dervish
noun/ˈdɜːvɪʃ/
/ˈdɜːrvɪʃ/
- a member of a Muslim religious group whose members make a promise to stay poor and live without comforts or pleasures. They perform a fast lively dance as part of their religious ceremonies.
- the Sufi tradition of whirling dervishes
Word Originfrom Turkish derviş, from Persian darvīš ‘poor’, (as a noun) ‘religious mendicant’.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
dervish