Dictionary

ulema en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /uːləˈmɑː/
• /ˈʊləmə/
• /ˈuːlɪmə/

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish علما (ulemâ), from Arabic عُلَمَاء (ʕulamāʔ, plural of عَالِم (ʕālim, “learned one”)). Doublet of ulama and olema.

Meanings

1. (form-of, plural) plural of alim; the guardians of legal and religious tradition in Islam; clerics.
   form of alim
   • Perhaps surprisingly, ulema families were less likely to intermarry with other ulema families than merchant families were to intermarry with other merchant families. 1999, Margaret L. Meriwether., The Kin Who Count: Family and Society in Ottoman Aleppo, 1770-1840, page 145:
   • The problem of sources can be offset by limiting the scope of generalisation - not all ulema, for example, but those who are retrievable or in some way representative of the sources if not of society. 2006, Madeline C. Zilfi, “10: The Ottoman ulema”, in Suraiya Faroqhi, editor, The Cambridge History of Turkey, page 209:
   • By virtue of their influence and their historical allegiance to the royal household, the ulema form one of three power centers of the kingdom, alongside the members of the royal court and the heads of the major tribes. 2009, Ron Eduard Hassner, War on Sacred Grounds, page 143:
   • For the time being, the faithful must follow their own consciences and learn to distinguish good from evil by themselves, instead of relying on the ulema. 2000, Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God, Harper, published 2004, page 131:
   • In process of time, the whole monopoly of the ulema centred in a certain number of families; and their constant residence at the capital, to which they return at the expiration of their term of office, has maintained their power to the present day. 1850, Archibald Alison, The Decline of Turkey: Essays, Political, Historical, and Miscellaneous, volume 2, page 458:

Forms