mullah
/ˈmʊ.lə/ noun
Forms mullahs mullahing mullahed
- noun (Islam) An honorific title for a scholar of theology and sharia law.
- noun (Islam) An honorific title for a mosque leader.
- noun (Islam) A scholar and teacher of theology and sharia law, and an issuer of fatwas.
- noun (India, religious slur, slang) A conservative Muslim leader or cleric, especially one who is hostile against other religions.
- noun (India, religious slur, slang, by extension) A Muslim.
- noun (dated, Iran, Islam) A low-level cleric who specializes in telling stories of Ashura, rather than teaching or issuing fatwas.
Synonyms
Etymology
Derived from Classical Persian مُلَّا (mullā), from Arabic مَوْلًى (mawlan, “vicar, guardian”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Mollah.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mullah”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details