Definition
Members of Islamic religious brotherhoods known for their spiritual practices, often including whirling, chanting, or other devotional rituals.
Etymology
From Persian 'darvīsh' meaning 'poor' or 'beggar,' referring to wandering ascetics who renounced material possessions. The word entered English through Turkish and Ottoman contexts during early European-Islamic encounters. The plural 'dervishes' reflects the Islamic tradition of organized spiritual orders.
Kelly Says
The famous 'whirling dervishes' of the Mevlevi Order perform their spinning ritual to represent the soul's journey toward spiritual perfection—each rotation is a form of prayer, and they've been doing this for over 700 years!
Translations
ARالعربية
الدرفش
al-der-fesh
CACatalà
dervixos
der-vi-xos
CSČeština
derviši
der-vi-ši
DADansk
derviser
der-vi-ser
DEDeutsch
Derwische
der-vish-e
ELΕλληνικά
δερβίσηδες
der-vi-seh-des
ESEspañol
derviches
der-vi-ches
FISuomi
dervišit
der-vish-it
FRFrançais
derviches
der-vi-ches
HEעברית
דרווישים
der-vish-im
HIहिन्दी
दरवेश
da-re-vesh
HUMagyar
dervisek
der-vi-sek
IDBahasa Indonesia
dervish
der-vish
ITItaliano
dervisci
der-vi-sci
MSBahasa Melayu
dervish
der-vish
MYမြန်မာ
ဒေါ်ဝီ scharf
daw-ee sharf
NLNederlands
dervishes
der-vi-shez
NONorsk
derviser
der-vi-ser
PLPolski
derwisze
der-vi-she
PTPortuguês
derviches
der-vi-ches
RORomână
derviși
der-vi-shi
RUРусский
дервиши
der-vi-shi
SVSvenska
derviser
der-vi-ser
SWKiswahili
dervish
der-vish
TAதமிழ்
தர்வீஷ்
thar-vish
TEతెలుగు
దర్వీశులు
dar-vish-ulu
TRTürkçe
dervişler
der-vish-ler
UKУкраїнська
дервіші
der-vish-i
VITiếng Việt
dervish
der-vish