Dictionary

maulvi en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈmaʊlvi/

Etymology

From Urdu مولوی (maulvi), and its source, Classical Persian مولوی (mawlawī), noun use of Arabic مَوْلَوِيّ (mawlawiyy, “of a lord or master”), ultimately from مَوْلًى (mawlan, “master”). Compare Mevlevi, mullah, maulana.

Meanings

1. An imam; a Muslim doctor of law.
2. (South-Asia, broadly) Any man of learning; a scholar, a teacher of Classical languages.
   • He had a maulvi and a pandit to teach him Urdu and Hindi. 2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 10:

Forms