‖n. [ Ar. badīl, pl. abdāl, a substitute, a good, religious man, saint, fr. badala to change, substitute. ] A religious devotee or dervish in Persia. [ 1913 Webster ]
(n) Arabian physician and influential Islamic philosopher; his interpretation of Aristotle influenced St. Thomas Aquinas; writings on medicine were important for almost 500 years (980-1037), Syn. ibn-Sina, Abu Ali al-Husain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina