MooT Question Icon
In Arabic its name literally means "man of wool." What Islamic sect is it?



Etymology, Etymology, and more Etymology
as well as grammar, usage, euphemism, slang, jargon, semantics (meaning), linguistics, neologism, idiom, word origin, syntax, dialect, lexicon (vocabulary), diction, pidgin, synonym, antonym, homonym, cant, argot, lingo, and redundancy.

A picture of a moot game

The critically-acclaimed board game MooT consists of tough questions about the nuances of the English language.
To join our mailing list and get free brain-twisting MooT questions sent to you irregularly, enter your email address and then press submit.

E-Mail address:



Back to home page


Answer: the Sufis

The word Sufi means "man of wool" in Arabic. It ultimately derives from the Arabic suf, wool.

The Sufis are a Muslim sect of ascetic mystics (i.e., they are not shop-aholics) who got their name because they wear woolen garments (labs-as-suf) as one demonstration of their religious devotion.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known appearance of the word in English writing is from 1653 -- from Greaves Seraglio "Those Turks which would be accounted Sofees ... do commonly read, as they walk along the streets."


Please note that these are draft questions for the board game MooT.
If you spot an error or disagree with anything I've said here,
please let me know and I'll fix it.
(the Mootguy)

Copyright 1998-2008 Blair Arts Ltd. All rights reserved.