dervish

/ˈdɜː(ɹ)vɪʃ/

Etymology

From Turkish derviş, from Persian درویش (darviš).

Why this word is great

DERVISH — [Noun] A member of a Sufi Muslim ascetic fraternity who practices voluntary poverty and engages in ecstatic rituals. From Turkish derviş, from Persian درویش (darviš, "beggar, mendicant"). Unlike "monk" (which implies cloistered contemplation) or "fakir" (which conjures feats of endurance), a dervish is a whirlwind of devotion, spinning in surrender to the divine. It is the white robe flaring like a blossom in mid-whirl, the bare feet tracing circles into dust, the ecstatic face tilted skyward as the body becomes a compass needle pointing only to the divine. A dervish does not renounce the world so much as dissolve into it, one turn at a time.

noun

A member of a Sufi Muslim ascetic fraternity of mendicant friars.
A citizen or inhabitant of Darawiish (circa 1895–1920 C.E.), the Dhulbahante anti-colonial polity geographically corresponding with Khaatumo.
An itinerant Sufi mystic practicing voluntary poverty in devotion to God, and often engaging in ecstatic rituals.; A citizen or inhabitant of Darawiish (circa 1895–1920 C.E.), an anti-colonial polity in modern Somalia headed by Sufis.
An itinerant Sufi mystic practicing voluntary poverty in devotion to God, and often engaging in ecstatic rituals.; One of the followers of Muhammad Ahmad, the Mahdi of the Sudan, in the 1880s.
An itinerant Sufi mystic practicing voluntary poverty in devotion to God, and often engaging in ecstatic rituals.; Any irregular guerrilla fighter resembling the Sudanese Mahdi in equipment, uniform, tactics, etc.“The Hejaz war, meanwhile, would be one of dervishes against regular troops.”