Ashik

An ashik (Azerbaijani: aşıq, عاشؽق; Turkish: âşık; Persian: عاشیق—all from Arabic: عاشِق) or ashugh (Armenian: աշուղ; Georgian: აშუღი)^: 1365 is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as hikaye) or a shorter original composition—with a long-necked lute (usually a bağlama or saz)^: 225 in Azerbaijani culture, including Turkish and South Azerbaijani and non-Turkic cultures of South Caucasus (primarily Armenian and Georgian).^{: 15–36 : 47} In Azerbaijan, the modern ashik is a professional musician who usually serves an apprenticeship, masters playing the bağlama, and builds up a varied but individual repertoire of Turkic folk songs.

The word ashiq (Arabic: عاشق, meaning "in love" or "lovelorn") is the nominative form of a noun derived from the word ishq (Arabic: عشق, "love"), which in turn may be related to the Avestan and Persian iš- ("to wish, desire, seek"). The term is synonymous with ozan in Turkish and Azerbaijani, which it superseded during the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries.^: 368 Other alternatives include saz şair (meaning "saz poet") and halk şair ("folk poet"). In Armenian, the term gusan, which referred to creative and performing artists in public theaters of Parthia and ancient as well as medieval Armenia, is often used as a synonym. ^{: 20 : 851–852}