sheik

[ sheek, sheyk ]

noun

1. Also sheikh. (in Islamic countries) the patriarch of a tribe or family; chief: a term of polite address.
2. Slang. a man held to be masterful and irresistibly charming to women.

Other Words From

• sheiklike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sheik¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Arabic shayḫ “old man, chief,” from shaka “to grow, grow up, grow old”

Example Sentences

Yet, less than a year after Rolling Stone published “The Sheik” in 1972, Babitz fired off a pointed missive to Didion, taking her to task for her refusal to acknowledge the ways in which sexism had impeded the artistic progress of women.

From Los Angeles Times

Babitz’s letters reveal a complex touch-and-go friendship between the two: Didion jump-started Babitz’s literary career by writing a letter of recommendation to Rolling Stone then-editor Grover Lewis, who published Babitz’s story “The Sheik.”

From Los Angeles Times

Sheik Don Ismail told us he lost all his camels during the drought, when grazing grounds dried up and the fodder he grew on his small farm wasn't enough to sustain them.

From BBC

Sheik Don said he was sometimes forced to defend his land at gunpoint.

From BBC

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been chosen to lead Bangladesh's interim government after the country's former prime minister Sheik Hasina resigned and fled the country following weeks of violent unrest.

From BBC

Related Words

• disparage
• exaggerate
• lampoon
• mimic
• mock
• ridicule
• satirize