Early 17th century. From Turkish Mevlevi from Arabic mawlawī, use as noun of denominal adjective from mawlā lord, master, after Mawlānā (Turkish Mevlânâ), sobriquet of Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, Persian poet and mystic, from whom the Mevlevi order (Arabic Mawlawiyya) takes its name: see maulana and compare Encycl. Islam (new ed., 1991) at Mawlawiyya.