dervish
noun
[ ˈdəːvɪʃ ]
• a member of a Muslim (specifically Sufi) religious order who has taken vows of poverty and austerity. Dervishes first appeared in the 12th century; they were noted for their wild or ecstatic rituals and were known as dancing, whirling, or howling dervishes according to the practice of their order.
Origin:
from Turkish derviş, from Persian darvīš ‘poor’, (as a noun) ‘religious mendicant’.
