Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, some of which perform whirling dances and vigorous chanting as acts of ecstatic devotion.
- noun One that possesses abundant, often frenzied energy.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A Mohammedan monk, professing poverty, humility, and chastity; a Mohammedan fakir.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes extreme poverty and leads an austere life.
- noun One of the fanatical followers of the Mahdi, in the Sudan, in the 1880's.
- noun in modern times, a member of an ascetic Mohammedan sect notable for its devotional exercises, which include energetic chanting or shouting and rhythmic bodily movement, such as whirling, leading to a trance-like state or ecstasy. From these exercises the phrase whirling dervish is derived.
- noun figuratively, a person who whirls or engages in frenzied activity reminiscent of the dervish{3} dancing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A member of
Dervish fraternity ofSufism , known forspinning .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an ascetic Muslim monk; a member of an order noted for devotional exercises involving bodily movements
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Although the word dervish is itself a Perso-Arab-Turkic word, the whirling dervishes did not come into existence until the 1200s in Konya, Turkey, where Jalaluddin Rumi, a Sufi mystic who produced some of the world's most enchanting poetry and literature, came to study and teach.
Firas Al-Atraqchi: Prince of Persia Slaughters Historical Accuracy 2010
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Although the word dervish is itself a Perso-Arab-Turkic word, the whirling dervishes did not come into existence until the 1200s in Konya, Turkey, where Jalaluddin Rumi, a Sufi mystic who produced some of the world's most enchanting poetry and literature, came to study and teach.
Firas Al-Atraqchi: Prince of Persia Slaughters Historical Accuracy 2010
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Moses accordingly prayed and departed but returning a few days afterwards he saw that the dervish was a prisoner and surrounded by a crowd of people.
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One of the men attacked by the dervish was a native non-commissioned officer.
Khartoum Campaign, 1898 or the Re-Conquest of the Soudan Bennet Burleigh
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On discovering that the dervish was a voracious eater, he pressed -- I might say forced -- him with savage hospitality to eat largely of every dish, so that, when pipes were brought after supper, the poor dervish was more than satisfied.
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By degrees they persuaded their credulous master that the dervish was a magician, who would in time possess himself of his throne, and the sultan, alarmed, resolved to put him to death.
The Arabian Nights Entertainments — Volume 04 Anonymous 1791
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By degrees they persuaded their credulous master that the dervish was a magician, who would in time possess himself of his throne, and the sultan, alarmed, resolved to put him to death.
The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Complete Anonymous 1791
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Dr Iqbal says that the life of a dervish is a very noble way of living but it is different from the life of a mendicant or friar who lives on begging or in seclusion.
WordPress.com News 2009
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Before the warriors of the Mehdi made the term 'dervish' better known, it was commonly understood to signify a beggar.
Persia Revisited Thomas Edward Gordon 1873
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A dervish is a poor man, who is not bound by any vow of poverty to abstain from meat, and may relinquish his profession at will.] "Go, then," said Zobeide, "and bring them in, but make them read what is written over the gate."
The Arabian Nights Entertainments Anonymous 1921
avivamagnolia commented on the word dervish
The history of the whirling dervishes begins with Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi(1200-1275).
After Rumi's death, his son, Sultan Valad, founded the Mevlevi Order, sometimes known as the Whirling Dervishes.
The Sema dance, the sacred Sufi practice of whirling or meditative turning, has been passed down for over seven hundred years, as have the music, zikr (sacred chanting), poetry, and the etiquette of this tradition.
Women and men alike were in the Order and whirled together for three hundred years after Rumi's death. Finally, after more than four hundred years in which were separated in worship, men and women are again participating in the Sema together.
January 18, 2009