fakir
/ˈfeɪkɪə
/ /ˈfakɪə/(also faquir)
noun
A Muslim (or, loosely, a Hindu) religious ascetic who lives solely on alms.Giving details, the Chairman has asserted that Guru Granth Sahib revered by the Sikhs as a living God, contained verses of 15 Hindu saints and Muslim fakirs....
- One story tells how Aurangzeb became rich by summoning fakirs (Muslim holy men thought to have magical powers) to his palace and forcing them to accept fine khilats.
- The Hindu fakir would sit for days without food or water, or bury himself alive as a kind of spiritual observance, a separation of mind from body.
Origin
Early 17th century: via French from Arabic faqīr 'needy man'.