Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

pir

American  
[peer] / pɪər /

noun

Islam.

  1. a term of respect for the head of a religious group, especially in Pakistan and various areas of the Middle East.

  2. a religious instructor, especially in mystical sects.

Pir British  
/ pir /

noun

  1. a title given to Sufi masters

"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

Etymology

Origin of pir

First recorded in 1665–75; from Hindi, Urdu pīr “old man,” from Persian

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Columns show pir subfamilies and rows show species.

From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017

Columns show pir subfamilies and rows show species.

From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017

Subfamilies were ordered by size, species were ordered for clarity. pir genes in rodent-infective species fall into a small number of well-defined families.

From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017

Subfamilies were ordered by size, species were ordered for clarity. pir genes in rodent-infective species fall into a small number of well-defined families.

From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017

Near the imamzada of Sahid is a burial-ground, rendered holy by the dust of a pir or saint who lies there.

From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.