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der·vish

(dûrvĭsh)

1. A member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, some of which perform whirling dances and vigorous chanting as acts of ecstatic devotion.

2. One that possesses abundant, often frenzied energy: "[She] is a dervish of unfocused energy, an accident about to happen" (Jane Gross).

[Turkish derviş, mendicant, from Persian darvēš, from Middle Persian driyōš, needy one, one who lives in holy mendicancy, from Old Iranian (Avestan) drigu-; akin to Sanskrit adhriguḥ (a divine epithet of unknown but favorable meaning) : perhaps a-, not + *dhrigu-, poor.]

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dervish

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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