sheikh

British  

/ ʃeɪk /

noun

1. 1. the head of an Arab tribe, village, etc

   2. a venerable old man

   3. a high priest or religious leader, esp a Sufi master

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Etymology

Origin of sheikh

C16: from Arabic shaykh old man

Explanation

Sheikh is a formal title for an Arabic man. It's common for tribal chiefs, religious leaders, and royal family members to be addressed as sheikh. The Arabic source of sheikh is shaykh, which literally means "old man," from a root meaning "to grow old." It's generally used as an honorific, to address a respected elder such as village leaders and family patriarchs. In Islam and Sufism, sheikhs are religious figures or scholars. A woman in a similar position of power or respect is commonly known as a shaykhah.

Example Sentences

The intelligence operation’s manager was asked whether the support came from an individual sheikh or from the Qatari state.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

He hopes to see the mosque, which houses the tomb of a Sufi sheikh, host a traditional music festival when the renovation is complete, "in five months".

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

Tarik Ata, an Orange County-based sheikh, said he supported “parents’ rights to guide their children’s moral and religious education.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2025

COVID-19 shuttered his next project, the Harlem Food Hall, but then Smalls received an unexpected call from Her Excellency, the sheikh of Dubai’s daughter, which led to his work on Alkebulan.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2025

This consists of a date from which the stone has been taken, and into which the sheikh has spat two or three times to fill up the gap caused by the removal of the stone.

From Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia An account of an Englishwoman's Eight Years' Residence amongst the Women of the East by Hume-Griffith, A.