ayatollah
/ˌʌɪəˈtɒlə
/noun
A high-ranking religious leader among Shiite Muslims, especially in Iran.The chief ayatollah of the Shiite Muslims in Iraq says he wants direct democratic elections to take place....
- The same applies to Protestant and Orthodox Christian leaders, the Dalai Lama, the Muslim ayatollahs, Jewish rabbinical councils, and all other modern-day religious patriarchs.
- Najaf is the seat of the Shi'ite's ayatollahs, or spiritual leaders.
Origin
1950s: from Persian, from Arabic 'āyatu-llāh, literally 'token of God'.
Rhymes
- reconsign
- reconsignment
- reconsole
- reconsolidate
- reconsolidation
- reconstituent
- reconstitute
- reconstituted stone
- reconstitution
- reconstruct
- reconstructable
- reconstructed stone
- reconstructible
- reconstruction
- reconstructional
- reconstructionary
- Reconstructionism
- reconstructionist
- reconstructive
- reconstructiveness
- reconstructor
- reconsult
- recontest
- recontextualize
- recontinuance