Word of the Day - AB'DALS, n.

The American Dictionary of the English language ^ | 1828 | Noah Webster

[Diamond]

AB'DALS, n. The name of certain fanatics in Persia, who, in excess of zeal, sometimes run into the streets, and attempt to kill all they meet who are of a different religion; and if they are slain for their madness, they think it meritorious to die, and by the vulgar are deemed martyrs.

[Diamond]

This is from the Noah Webster 1828 American Dictionary of the English language. Noah Webster, in his preface to his dictionary, spells out his worldview quite clearly as being that of a Christian who believes in the revelation of Scripture.

Modern dictionary 'writers' do not reveal their worldviews in their dictionaries.

Interesting that "terrorists" is the term we use now and the word "abdals" is no longer in the Webster-Mirriam Dictonary - even as an obsolete word. Why not? Could it be because the writers/editors of the dictionary were ignorant of this word - or is it because it is 'politically offensive' to those of a certain religion who would object?

The new Mirriam Webster online dictionary states:
"The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary."

Although the word "abdals" is defined in some modern dictionaries it has lost its precision and political correctness has made for an inaccurate definition.

Cordially,

[agere_contra]

Sometimes dictionaries make up words as a form of copyright protection, so you never know. Is Ab'dals independently attested?

[agere_contra]

I see from further down your post that it is. Just a thought!

[Nebr FAL owner]

As the saying goes "Nothing says F*CK YOU abdul like a load of double ought buckshot" now we have some idea why that particular phrase came about.

[RightWhale]

The 1828 Dictionary sounds like an encyclopedia if all the word definitions are that long.

[Andy from Beaverton]

In my Webster's New International Dictionary, 1945, it says, "a member of high degree in the Sufi order of saints".

[Diamond]

The 1828 Dictionary sounds like an encyclopedia if all the word definitions are that long.

I haven't looked at all the definitions but here was his take on it:

DEFINITION, n.

1. A brief description of a thing by its properties; as a definition of wit or of a circle.

2. In logic, the explication of the essence of a thing by its kind and difference.

3. In lexicography, an explanation of the signification of a word or term, or of what a word is understood to express.

Cordially,

[RightWhale]

A dervish. Not a Sufi but an acolyte who, if he runs into the street and slashes pedestrians until he is taken down, will never become a Sufi but remain an acolyte who didn't make the grade.

[BlueNgold]

E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

Ab’dals.

Persian fanatics, who think it a merit to kill anyone of a different religion; and if slain in the attempt, are accounted martyrs.

[fallujah-nuker]

I wonder if the word is actually to be spelled "ab'dals" or is it perhaps "abd'als?" Abd is the the Arabic word for slave and is used in some names, e.g. Abdallah, i.e. slave of Allah. It is also synonymous with the word for black people in Arabic, they refer to blacks as slaves.

[Diamond]

"a member of high degree in the Sufi order of saints".

A 1945 liberal, "cleansed" definition?

Cordially,

[RightWhale]

The various marks inside transliterations of Arabic vary considerably from one method to the next. The three letter combination abd would be a root for an entire family of related words. You can play a game with the words. abid means slave, abada means to worship, abada means to exterminate, abdaa means to create. It is a kind of Cockney rhyming cant and something that some poets and some higher adepts use to try to teach their acolytes, or in the case of the abdal to get rid of hopeless cases.

[Slip18]

Nice teaching there, Diamond. Abdal is a good word for them.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

The 1828 dictionary uses the apostrophe ['] to separate the syllables in all the words. It's just "abdals".

It should be easy to see
The crux of the biscuit
Is the Apostrophe(')

FZ