Originally an Arabic term from the early 17th century, faqir, translates as "a poor man." However, it became used to mean a holy man of Islam who subsisted through begging. By the late 18th century, the term "fake," from German or from Latin, with our modern meaning, was used in the slang of London's criminals. The combination of these two terms seems likely to have produced the word fakir (pronounced fah-keer), which was applied to Hindu ascetics.