Sheik

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃeɪk/ or
• Rhymes: -iːk
• Homophones: chic, shake

Alternative forms

• sheikh
• shaykh

Origin

From Arabic شيخ (šaykh), from شاخ (šākha, "to age, grow old").

Full definition of sheik

Noun

1. The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe.
2. An Islamic religious clergy; the leader of an Islamic religious order.
3. (some Arab Persian Gulf, Gulf countries)
4. (1920s) A romantic lover. from the 1921 film The Sheikh
• 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.

Usage notes

The use for a religious leader is colloquial as a means of respect. There is no official title.

Anagrams

• hikes