fedayeen

Definitions


[ˌfɛdʌɪˈiːn], (Noun)

Definitions:
- Arab guerrillas operating especially against Israel
(e.g: unexpected attacks by the fedayeen)


Phrases:

Origin:
1950s: from colloquial Arabic fidā'iyīn, plural of classical Arabic fidā'ī ‘one who gives his life for another or for a cause’, from fadā ‘to ransom someone’. The singular fedai (from Arabic and Persian fidā'ī) had previously been used (late 19th century) to denote an Ismaili Muslim assassin




definition by Oxford Dictionaries