sheikh
English · Français · Kiswahili · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
sheikh¹
- /ʃeɪk/
- /ʃik/
Sounds like shake, chic (different pronunciations) · Rhymes with -eɪk
Where it comes from
From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ, “elder”). Sense 4 (“a romantic lover”) is from the 1921 film The Sheik.
noun sheikhs · sheik · shaykh
- The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe. Tarzan, who, by this time, with the assistance of Abdul, had picked up quite a smattering of Arab, questioned one of the younger men who had accompanied the sheik while the latter paid his respects to Captain Gerard.
- An Islamic religious cleric; the master of a Sufi order. He then studied under a variety of scholars (shuyook) and institutes around the world in his quest for authentic knowledge.
- An official title for members of the royal family as well as some prominent families.
- A romantic lover. When your last natural tooth goes, the time when you can kid yourself that you're a Hollywood sheik, is definitely at an end.
- An Arab, especially one dressed in traditional clothing.
- A member of one of the three hereditary, traditionally endogamous Yazidi castes, taking certain spiritual and leadership roles.
- An honorific for specialists in spirituality, for example in Sufism.
Sheikh²
noun Sheikhs
- The title of a sheikh. The Makaddam of Dhaboot, Sheikh Awadth, is a fine-looking old man, and seemed much gratified at the recognition by Government of his kindness to the sailors. Two of the headmen of Nishton, Sheikhs Muhammad and Moosa, who happened to be here, received their presents at the same time as Sheikh Awadth.
- Alternative letter-case form of sheikh (Yazidi caste)
proper noun
- A surname from Arabic
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sheik, arab chief, shaykh, shaikh, sheikha, cheikh, sharm, amir, mullah, mufti, imam, islam, emir, esh, kuwaiti, qatar
Translations
Every language
noun leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe
| Español | jeque |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 샤이크 syaikeu |
| 日本語 | シャイフ shaifu, シェイフ sheifu |
| 中文 | 謝赫 /谢赫 xièhè, 酋長 /酋长 qiúzhǎng |
| हिन्दी | शैख़ śaix, शेख śekh |
| Português | xeique, xeque |
| Français | cheik |
| Deutsch | Scheich |
| Italiano | sceicco |
| Ελληνικά | σεΐχης seḯchis |
| Română | șeic |
| Русский | шейх šejx |
| العربية | شَيْخ šayḵ |
| עברית | שייח׳, שֵׁיח sheykh |
noun Islamic religious clergy
| Español | jeque |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | シャイフ shaifu, シェイフ sheifu |
| 中文 | 謝赫 /谢赫 xièhè |
| हिन्दी | शैख़ śaix, शेख śekh |
| Kiswahili | shehe |
| Português | xeique, xeque |
| Deutsch | Scheich |
| Ελληνικά | σεΐχης seḯchis |
| Русский | шейх šejx |
| العربية | شَيْخ šayḵ |
Talk about this word "sheikh." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sheikh. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sheikh. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sheikh "sheikh." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sheikh.Cite this
@misc{sheikh_2026,
title = {sheikh},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sheikh},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
