Fakir

//fəˈkiɹ// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A faqir, owning no personal property and usually living solely off alms.
  2. 2
    a Muslim or Hindu mendicant monk who is regarded as a holy man wordnet
  3. 3
    An ascetic mendicant, especially one who performs feats of endurance or apparent magic. Hinduism

    "The preposterous altruism too![…]Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog."

  4. 4
    Someone who takes advantage of the gullible through fakery, especially of a spiritual or religious nature. derogatory

    "He denounces no one until he has all the damaging facts in hand, very frequently backed up with affidavits. He 'Lawsonized' certain stock jobbers and financial fakirs of London before the Boston advertising man was heard of."

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَقِير (faqīr, “poor man”).

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