ayatollah en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Borrowed from Iranian Persian آیَتُاللّٰه (âyato-l-lâh), from Classical Persian آیَةُاللّٰه (āyatu-l-lāh), from Arabic آيَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ (ʔāyatu llāhi, “sign of God”, from آيَة (ʔāya, “sign”) + اللّٰه (allāh, “God”)).
Meanings
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(Shia) A religious leader in Twelverism.
"It could also pave the way for the Iranian people to seize this unique opportunity and shape their own future," Falk clarified. “I doubt the Iranian people want to replace one ayatollah with another ayatollah.”
2026 March 5, Zvika Klein, quoting Ophir Falk, “Netanyahu adviser to 'Post': Best way to remove ayatollah threat is to remove ayatollahs”, in The Jerusalem Post, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2026:
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(colloquial) An authority on any subject.
P.S. This writer does NOT speak as the Ayatollah of SM. (There isn't one.) If you really want to know more, talk to sadomasochists, or at least do some reading if you're too scared to ask.
1983 February 5, Shiva, “SM/Feminism/Antisemitism”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 28, page 4:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ayatolla | alternative | lexicographic | |
| ayatollahs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (47)
fi ajatollah (a religious leader) · es ayatolá (a religious leader) · nl ayatollah (a religious leader) · bg аятола́х (a religious leader) · hy այաթոլլա (a religious leader) · sh ajatolah (a religious leader) · et ajatolla (a religious leader) · cs ajatolláh (a religious leader) · eo ajatolo (a religious leader) · uk аятола́ (a religious leader) · ko 아야톨라 (a religious leader) · ru аятолла́ (a religious leader) · da ayatollah (a religious leader) · fa-ira آیَةُاللّٰه (a religious leader) · sh ајатолах (a religious leader) · th อายะตุลลอหฺ (a religious leader) · pt aiatolá (a religious leader) · sv ayatolla (a religious leader) · ota آیَتُاللّٰه (a religious leader) · ca aiatol·là (a religious leader) · ug ئايەتۇللا (a religious leader) · id ayatullah (a religious leader) · ka აიათოლა (a religious leader) · pl ajatollah (a religious leader) · az ayətullah (a religious leader) · cmn 阿亞圖拉 /阿亚图拉 (a religious leader) · lt ajatolà (a religious leader) · el αγιατολάχ (a religious leader) · hu ajatollah (a religious leader) · ms ayatollah (a religious leader) · ur آیَتُ ٱللہ (a religious leader) · uz oyatulloh (a religious leader) · tg оятуллоҳ (a religious leader) · sq ajatollah (a religious leader) · it ayatollah (a religious leader) · fr ayatollah (a religious leader) · de Ajatollah (a religious leader) · it aiatollà (a religious leader) · he אייתוללה (a religious leader) · tr ayetullah (a religious leader) · hi आयतुल्लाह (a religious leader) · ja アヤトラ (a religious leader) · kk аятолла (a religious leader) · ar آيَةُ اللّٰه (a religious leader) · bn আয়াতুল্লাহ (a religious leader) · fa-ira آیَتُالله (a religious leader) · lv ājatolla (a religious leader)