What does fakir mean: let’s discover together the meaning of the term, its origins and all the possible synonyms.
Etymology and synonym of fakir
When one hears the word fakir, the mind spontaneously runs to the image of a man lying on a bed of nails or broken glass. Of course there is some truth in this stereotype, but the deep meaning of the term cannot be completely summarized in this image. The term fakir derives from the Arabic faqir , meaning poor, beggar, and originally referred to Muslim dervishes, who in fact lived in absolute poverty.
More generally, today the word is used in reference to ascetics belonging to Islamic and Hindu sects, dedicated to mystical practices that allow them a strong control over painful sensations and, more generally, over vegetative physiological functions, such as heartbeat, blood pressure and movement of some hollow organs. The term fakir therefore refers to an individual who, thanks to particular ascetic practices and yoga, is able to reach deep levels of meditation and, consequently, tolerate deprivation and/or physical pain beyond the normal threshold.
In essence, the fakir lives in poverty and practices meditation, thanks to which he controls hunger, governs fatigue and is able to resist pain. These practices, of oriental origin, have then arrived in the West over time, giving rise to what we could define as ‘show fakirs’, who are seen performing in the streets; no longer tied, however, to a religious philosophy or to a state of ascetic poverty.
Synonyms of the term fakir
As for synonyms of fakir, they can be considered as follows: ascetic, dervish, mystic and so on.
Phrases with fakir
Some sentences with the term fakir, to better understand its meaning.
- He served the drink and sat cross-legged like a fakir in one of the armchairs.
- The bandage that covers my head makes me look like a fakir whose braids have gotten caught in a fan.
- I take off my glasses, I smell that straw next to the other cages of the circus, where the bones of the poor fakir are melting.
- But just when India needed a modern, secular national leader more than anything else, it found itself with a guru and a fakir.
