sheik

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English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ, “elder”).

Pronunciation

Noun

sheik (plural sheiks)

  1. The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe.
  2. An Islamic religious cleric; the leader of an Islamic religious order.
    • 2013 August 1, Islamic Online University Insights‎, archived from the original on 25 October 2021, page 10:
      He then studied under a variety of scholars (shuyook) and institutes around the world in his quest for authentic knowledge.
  3. (some Arab Gulf countries) An official title for members of the royal family as well as some prominent families.
  4. (1920s) A romantic lover. (from the 1921 film The Sheik)
    • 1939, George Orwell, Coming Up for Air, part 1, chapter 1:
      When your last natural tooth goes, the time when you can kid yourself that you're a Hollywood sheik, is definitely at an end.
  5. (slang) An Arab, especially one dressed in traditional clothing.
  6. An honorific for specialists in spirituality, for example in Sufism.

Usage notes

The title is commonly used for religious leaders as an expression of respect, in which case it does not imply an official status.

Translations

Anagrams

Dutch

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ), from شَاخَ (šāḵa, “to age, grow old”).

Pronunciation

Noun

sheik m (plural sheiks, diminutive sheikje n)

  1. sheik

Swahili

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ).

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Kenya):(file)

Noun

sheik class V (plural masheik class VI)

  1. sheik
    Synonym: shehe
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