Nazir

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who takes a vow of abstinence, particularly in relation to alcohol or other intoxicants
2. Someone dedicated to a period of consecration or religious sacrifice
3. An individual who commits to specific observances or restrictions as part of a spiritual or religious practice

Etymology: The English word "nazir" comes from Hindustani, the language spoken across northern India and Pakistan, which took it from Classical Persian "nazīr," meaning "equal," "like," or "counterpart." The Persian word in turn came from Arabic "naẓīr," which carries the same sense of a match or equivalent. The meaning of the word in those languages is therefore not a religious one at all: it describes someone who stands alongside or corresponds to another. The religious sense developed later, through a shift from comparison to a person set apart. In the Islamic tradition, a nazir came to denote a devotee who had taken a vow of abstinence or dedication, a person marked out from ordinary life by a solemn pledge. English borrowed the word in this specialized sense, so the vow-taker it names is a kind of counterpart to the ordinary believer, distinguished by commitment rather than by any worldly rank.

Synonyms: overseer, inspector, supervisor