Dervish

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Dervish \Der"vish\, Dervise \Der"vise\, Dervis \Der"vis\, n.
     [Per. derw[=e]sch, fr. OPer. derew to beg, ask alms: cf. F.
     derviche.]
     1. A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes
        extreme poverty and leads an austere life.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. One of the fanatical followers of the Mahdi, in the Sudan,
        in the 1880's.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     3. 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.
        [PJC]
  
     4. figuratively, a person who whirls or engages in frenzied
        activity reminiscent of the dervish[3] dancing.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  dervish
       n : an ascetic Muslim monk; a member of an order noted for
           devotional exercises involving bodily movements

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  41 Moby Thesaurus words for "dervish":
     Albigensian, Black Muslim, Catharist, Franciscan, Mohammedan,
     Moslem, Motazilite, Muhammadan, Muslim, Mussulman, Sabbatarian,
     Sectary, Shia, Shiite, Sufi, Sunnite, Trappist, Wahabi, Waldensian,
     abdal, abstainer, anchorite, ascetic, bhikshu, fakir, flagellant,
     hajji, hermit, imam, mendicant, muezzin, mufti, mullah, murshid,
     puritan, qadi, sannyasi, santon, sheikh, yogi, yogin