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marabout

[ mar-uh-boot, -boo ]

noun

  1. Islam.
    1. a hermit or holy man, especially in N Africa, often wielding political power and credited with supernatural powers.
    2. the tomb or shrine of such a man.


marabout

/ ˈmærəˌbuː /

noun

  1. a Muslim holy man or hermit of North Africa
  2. a shrine of the grave of a marabout
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Words From

  • mara·boutism noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of marabout1

1615–25; < French < Portuguese marabuto < Arabic murābit; Almoravid, maravedi
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Word History and Origins

Origin of marabout1

C17: via French and Portuguese marabuto, from Arabic murābit
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Example Sentences

We follow Ibrahimah with our hearts as he dodges rival packs of talibé, escapes black-market organ traders and other criminals, and survives the cruelty of his marabout while student protests mount in the streets.

DAKAR, Senegal — On one wall, the painting of a marabout, a Muslim holy man, peers out from behind a line hung with laundry.

Paru then began to speak of the desert fathers and of marabouts, holy men who, in these parts, had used the desert as a site of spiritual inquiry.

“Sometimes my marabout will take what I collect and sell it,” said Ahmadou, who comes from a small village in Gambia and has not seen his family for years.

In the 2015 presidential election, Jonathan’s national security adviser spent billions of naira employing marabouts – Muslim holy men – from Saudi Arabia and north Africa to pray for his reelection, according to Nigerian media.

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