mufti

[ muhf-tee ]

noun

, plural muf·tis.

1. civilian clothes, in contrast with military or other uniforms, or as worn by a person who usually wears a uniform.
2. a Muslim jurist expert in the religious law.
3. (in the Ottoman Empire) a deputy of the chief Muslim legal adviser to the Sultan.
4. (initial capital letter) Grand Mufti.

mufti

¹

/ ˈmʌftɪ /

noun

1. a Muslim legal expert and adviser on the law of the Koran
2. (in the former Ottoman empire) the leader of the religious community

mufti

²

/ ˈmʌftɪ /

noun

1. civilian dress, esp as worn by a person who normally wears a military uniform

Word History and Origins

Origin of mufti¹

First recorded in 1580–90, mufti is from the Arabic word muftī literally, “a person who delivers a judgment,” originally a Muslim legal adviser; sense of mufti def 1 arises from the legal adviser being a civil official

Word History and Origins

Origin of mufti¹

C16: from Arabic muftī, from aftā to give a (legal) decision

Origin of mufti²

C19: perhaps from mufti ¹

Example Sentences

To this day, Muslims consult mufti, local legal experts, on tricky points of social conduct.

From Time

At the end of his prayer, the grand mufti whispered aloud: “May God accept it.”

From The Daily Beast

In 2000, the then-grand mufti insisted the earth was flat and disk-shaped and the sun revolved around it.

From The Daily Beast

Unfortunately, Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh and his colleagues who issued the fatwa against The 99 fit that description.

From The Daily Beast

What he calls a “papery palace of stories” sustains identity and ties Mufti to place.

From The Daily Beast

Mufti later describes the violence devastating his country as “a clash of civilizations inside Pakistan.”

From The Daily Beast

Frenchmen live in uniform, while no British soldier is quite happy without mufti.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a tall man, a little stooped, his clothes—uniform and mufti alike—perpetually rumpled.

From Project Gutenberg

This he obtained without difficulty, then changing into mufti he went ashore.

From Project Gutenberg

He was in mufti, whoever he was, and received us kindly enough.

From Project Gutenberg

"I want to enrol myself as a Special Constable," I said to the man in mufti behind the desk.

From Project Gutenberg