Kurmanji ⇄ English · 180 terms · source-cited

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Search Yazidi religious vocabulary, oral genres, festivals, places, community terms, and everyday Kurmanji used in the tradition. Every headword has a stable page, a concise English definition, broad IPA, and transparent script-reading aids.

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Pre-publication reference set. The 180-entry launch dataset is technically complete; spellings and interpretive definitions still require the named Yazidi-affiliated or specialist reviewer required by the site’s editorial gate.

20 matching terms.

Religious roles Audio later

Baba Çawûş

Baba Chawush

The custodian and senior servant associated with the sanctuary at Laliş.

IPA: /baba t͡ʃawuːʃ/
Arabic reading: بابا چاوووش

Full entry

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Baba Şêx

Baba Sheikh

The senior religious authority in the traditional Yazidi hierarchy.

IPA: /baba ʃeːx/
Arabic reading: بابا شێخ

Full entry

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Birayê axiretê

brother of the hereafter

A ritually chosen spiritual brother in the Yazidi institution of otherworldly kinship.

IPA: /bɪrajeː axɪrɛteː/
Arabic reading: بِرایێ اخِرەتێ

Full entry

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Derwêş

dervish

A dervish or devoted religious person; the word also occurs as a personal title and in oral narratives.

IPA: /dɛrweːʃ/
Arabic reading: دەروێش

Full entry

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Feqîr

faqir

A member of a devotional religious group distinguished traditionally by discipline, dress, and service.

IPA: /fɛqiːr/
Arabic reading: فەقیر

Full entry

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Feqra

female faqir

A female member of the feqîr devotional tradition.

IPA: /fɛqra/
Arabic reading: فەقرا

Full entry

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Hostayê qewalan

master of the qewals

The master or senior instructor associated with the qewal tradition.

IPA: /hostajeː qɛwalan/
Arabic reading: هۆستایێ قەوالان

Full entry

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Koçek

visionary

A religious specialist associated in published accounts with visions, divination, and sacred knowledge.

IPA: /kot͡ʃɛk/
Arabic reading: کۆچەک

Full entry

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Micêwir

shrine custodian

A local guardian or custodian responsible for a shrine and its service.

IPA: /mɪd͡ʒeːwɪr/
Arabic reading: مِجێوِر

Full entry

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Mîr

prince

The hereditary temporal head or prince of the Yazidi community in the traditional institutional order.

IPA: /miːr/
Arabic reading: میر

Full entry

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Mirîd

lay follower

A lay member of the Yazidi community within the traditional hereditary social order.

IPA: /mɪriːd/
Arabic reading: مِرید

Full entry

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Pêşîmam

Peshimam

A high-ranking hereditary religious office in the traditional Yazidi hierarchy.

IPA: /peːʃiːmam/
Arabic reading: پێشیمام

Full entry

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Pîr

pir caste

One of the hereditary religious castes; each mirîd family is traditionally affiliated with a pir lineage.

IPA: /piːr/
Arabic reading: پیر

Full entry

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Qewal

sacred reciter

A hereditary religious specialist who performs and transmits sacred hymns, traditionally with def and şibab accompaniment.

IPA: /qɛwal/
Arabic reading: قەوال

Full entry

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Qewlbêj

qewl singer

A singer or reciter of qewls; usage and formal status vary by region and context.

IPA: /qɛwlbeːʒ/
Arabic reading: قەولبێژ

Full entry

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Ruhanî

religious person

An adjective meaning spiritual or religious, also used substantively for a member of the religious estate.

IPA: /rʊhaniː/
Arabic reading: روهانی

Full entry

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Şêx

sheikh caste

One of the hereditary religious castes; individual mirîd families maintain a prescribed relationship with a sheikh lineage.

IPA: /ʃeːx/
Arabic reading: شێخ

Full entry

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Ulimdar

religious scholar

A learned person or religious scholar; the term is used for people recognized for knowledge of tradition.

IPA: /ʊlɪmdar/
Arabic reading: ولِمدار

Full entry

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Xidmetkar

servant or attendant

A person who performs service, especially an attendant serving a shrine, institution, or ceremony.

IPA: /xɪdmɛtkar/
Arabic reading: خِدمەتکار

Full entry

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Xwişka axiretê

sister of the hereafter

A ritually chosen spiritual sister in the Yazidi institution of otherworldly kinship.

IPA: /xwɪʃka axɪrɛteː/
Arabic reading: خوِشکا اخِرەتێ

Full entry

How to read this lexicon

One canonical form, transparent aids

The lexicon separates sourced lexical content from mechanically generated reading aids. That distinction matters because Yazidi Kurmanji is written in more than one script and spelling practice is not uniform across Iraq, the Caucasus, and diaspora communities.

01
Headword and meaning
The Latin Kurmanji form is the editorial key. Definitions are concise syntheses checked against at least two category-appropriate scholarly sources.
02
Broad IPA
The IPA line maps the written Kurmanji form to a broad, stress-neutral reading. It is a pronunciation aid, not a recording or dialect claim.
03
Script reading variants
Arabic and Cyrillic forms are deterministic transliterations of the Latin headword. They are labelled “reading” forms and must not be mistaken for attested local spellings.
04
Audio slots
Every entry reserves an audio control, but no synthetic voice is substituted for a speaker. Recordings can be attached after speaker consent and dialect metadata are available.

Named authorities

Sources and verification

Definitions are editorial paraphrases, never copied qewl text. Individual entries show a smaller category-specific source set.

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