Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a Muslim or Hindu religious ascetic or mendicant monk commonly considered a wonder-worker.
- a member of any Islamic religious order; dervish.
noun
- a Muslim ascetic who rejects wordly possessions
- a Hindu ascetic mendicant or holy man
c.1600, from Arabic faqir “a poor man,” from faqura “he was poor.” Term for Muslim holy man who lived by begging, misapplied in 19c. English (possibly under influence of faker) to Hindu ascetics. Arabic plural form fuqara may have led to variant early English forms such as fuckiere (1630s).
The Postillon: Fakir manages to eat just one single potato crisp in
Fakir | Fakir stunt ,Ajmer pawelbienkowski.Liberal Dictionary/… | Flickr
India—Fakir with Monkeys – World Digital Library
Sufi fakir | pawelbienkowski.Liberal Dictionary/#!/index Ajmer… | Flickr
Fakir Sitting On Bed Of Nails, India Photograph by Wellcome Images