English

Alternative forms

• sheikh
• shaykh

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.
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 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.
6. An honorific for specialists in spirituality.

Usage notes

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

Translations

Anagrams

• hikes

Dutch

Pronunciation

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /ʃɛi̯k/
• (Flanders) IPA^(key): /ʃɛːk/
• Rhymes: -ɛi̯k

Etymology

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

Noun

sheik m ‎(plural sheiks, diminutive sheikje n)

1. sheik