Dictionary

sheikh en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ʃeɪk/
• (General-American) audio
• /ʃik/

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ, “elder”). Sense 4 (“a romantic lover”) is from the 1921 film The Sheik.

Meanings

1. The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe.
   • Tarzan, who, by this time, with the assistance of Abdul, had picked up quite a smattering of Arab, questioned one of the younger men who had accompanied the sheik while the latter paid his respects to Captain Gerard. 1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Numa ‘El Adrea’”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, page 120:
2. An Islamic religious cleric; the master of a Sufi order.
   • He then studied under a variety of scholars (shuyook) and institutes around the world in his quest for authentic knowledge. 2013 January 8, Islamic Online University Insights, archived from the original on 25 Oct 2021, page 10:
3. (qualifier:some Arab Gulf countries) An official title for members of the royal family as well as some prominent families.
4. (archaic, slang) A romantic lover.
   • When your last natural tooth goes, the time when you can kid yourself that you're a Hollywood sheik, is definitely at an end. 1939, George Orwell, Coming Up for Air, part 1, chapter 1:
5. (slang) An Arab, especially one dressed in traditional clothing.
6. A member of one of the three hereditary, traditionally endogamous Yazidi castes, taking certain spiritual and leadership roles.
7. An honorific for specialists in spirituality, for example in Sufism.

Forms

Deriveds

sheik al-Yahud · sheikdom · Baba Sheikh · sheiklike · sheikly

Relateds

sheikha · shaykh al-Islam

Translations (138)

ar شَيْخ (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · el σεΐχης (Islamic religious clergy) · uz shayx (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ny shehe (Islamic religious clergy) · cs šajch (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · kmr şêx (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · hy շեյխ (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · pt xeque (Islamic religious clergy) · ro șeic (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · eo ŝejĥo (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · ug شەيخ (Islamic religious clergy) · cmn 酋長 /酋长 (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ms syeikh (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · uk шейх (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · gu શેખ (Islamic religious clergy) · de Scheich (Islamic religious clergy) · el γόης (1920s: romantic lover) · hi शेख (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · el σεΐχης (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · sl šejk (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · arz شيخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ru шейх (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · is sjeik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · hi शैख़ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · io sheiko (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ru шейх (Islamic religious clergy) · ar شَيْخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · el σεΐχης (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · az şeyx (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · mk ше́ик (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ky шайык (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ur شَیخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · cs šajch (Islamic religious clergy) · sw shehe (Islamic religious clergy) · ga síc (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · nb sjeik (Islamic religious clergy) · pt xeique (Islamic religious clergy) · fi šeikki (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · fi šeikki (Islamic religious clergy) · he שֵׁיח (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · kmr şêx (Islamic religious clergy) · sv shejk (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · tk şyh (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ko 샤이크 (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ps شيخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · sq sheik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · he שייח׳ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · mk ше́ик (Islamic religious clergy) · it sceicco (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · cmn 謝赫 /谢赫 (Islamic religious clergy) · cs šejk (Islamic religious clergy) · yao shehe (Islamic religious clergy) · id syekh (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · nl sheik (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · fi šeikki (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · sv schejk (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · cmn 謝赫 /谢赫 (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ja シェイフ (Islamic religious clergy) · hi शैख़ (Islamic religious clergy) · be шэйх (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · tl heke (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · pl szejk (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · cs šejch (Islamic religious clergy) · ckb شێخ (Islamic religious clergy) · nn sjeik (Islamic religious clergy) · et šeik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · sv shejk (Islamic religious clergy) · fa-ira شِیخ (Islamic religious clergy) · fr cheik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · nl sheik (1920s: romantic lover) · ka შეიხი (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · sh ше̏ик (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ja シャイフ (Islamic religious clergy) · av шайих (Islamic religious clergy) · ja シェイフ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · pt xeique (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · kk шайқы (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · gl xeque (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · av шайих (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · eo ŝejko (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · fa-ira شِیخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · yi שייך (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · gu શેખ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · it sceicco (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · pt xeque (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · nl sheik (Islamic religious clergy) · de Scheich (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · hy շեյխ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · tr şeyh (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · pt xeque (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · kmr şêx (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · ru донжуа́н (1920s: romantic lover) · tg шайх (Islamic religious clergy) · tg шайх (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · arz شيخ (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · sk šejk (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · hu sejk (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ka შეიხი (Islamic religious clergy) · nb sjeik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · nl sheik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · bg шейх (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · cs šejch (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · es jeque (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · bg донжуа́н (1920s: romantic lover) · sv schejk (Islamic religious clergy) · hu sejk (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · bg шейх (Islamic religious clergy) · ar شَيْخ (Islamic religious clergy) · hy շեյխ (Islamic religious clergy) · mk ше́ик (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · de Scheich (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · nn sjeik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · es jeque (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · hu sejk (Islamic religious clergy) · sv schejk (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · fa-cls شَیْخ (Islamic religious clergy) · ckb شێخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · arz شيخ (Islamic religious clergy) · ru шейх (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · cmn 謝赫 /谢赫 (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · bn শেখ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · sv shejk (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · ca xeic (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ja シャイフ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · et šeik (Islamic religious clergy) · ka შეიხი (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · es jeque (Islamic religious clergy) · cs šejk (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · hi शेख (Islamic religious clergy) · tl heke (Islamic religious clergy) · mk донжуа́н (1920s: romantic lover) · pt xeique (Gulf countries: official title for members of the royal family) · fa-cls شَیْخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · fi sheikki (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · ur شَیخ (Islamic religious clergy) · ug شەيخ (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · sh šȅik (leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe) · bn শেখ (Islamic religious clergy)