[fe-dah-yee] 
[-yeen] . | a member of an Arab commando group operating esp. against Israel. |
| fe·da·yee (fě-dä'yē', -dä'ē', -dā'-) n. pl. fe·da·yeen (-yēn', -ēn') A commando or guerrilla, especially an Arab commando operating in the Middle East. [Arabic fidā'ī, one who sacrifices himself, from fidā', sacrifice, ransom, from fadā, to sacrifice, ransom; see pdy in Semitic roots.] |
fedayee
a term used in Islamic cultures to describe a devotee of a religious or national group willing to engage in self-immolation to attain a group goal. The term first appeared in the 11th-13th centuries in reference to the members of the Nizari Isma'ili sect of Assassins who would risk their lives to commit political murder, an assignment considered a religious duty. Though fida'iyyun (fedayeen) may have constituted a special body of "Assassins," accounts of their taking hashish as a stimulant are not supported by evidence
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