Etymology

dervish

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Today it means: A member of a Sufi Muslim ascetic fraternity of mendicant friars. Full definition →

Ottoman Turkish درویش ← Persian درویش ← Middle Persian dlgwš
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dervish · noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-Iranian · derived from*drigu-
  2. Middle Persian · derived fromdlgwš“poor, needy”
  3. Persian · derived fromدرویش“poor; Sufi mystic”
  4. Ottoman Turkish · derived fromدرویش
  5. English todaydervish

From Ottoman Turkish درویش (derviş), from Persian درویش (darvêš, “poor; Sufi mystic”), from Middle Persian dlgwš (driyōš, “poor, needy”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *drigu-, cognate with Sanskrit ध्रिगु (dhrigu, “needy”) and Avestan 𐬛𐬭𐬌𐬔𐬎 (driguš).

Dervish · noun2

  1. Persian · derived fromدرویش
  2. Turkish · borrowed fromderviş
  3. English todayDervish

From Turkish derviş, from Persian درویش (darviš).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.