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fa·kir

(fə-kîr, fä-, fă-)

1. A Muslim religious mendicant.

2. A Hindu ascetic or religious mendicant, especially one who performs feats of magic or endurance.

[From Arabic faqīr, poor, from faqura, to be poor, be needy; see pqr in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

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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