mullah

[ muhl-uh, mool-uh, moo-luh ]

noun
  1. (in Islamic countries) a title of respect for a person who is learned in, teaches, or expounds the sacred law.

  2. (in Turkey) a provincial judge.

Origin of mullah

1
1605–15; <Persian or Urdu mullā<Arabic mawlā;see maulvi

Words Nearby mullah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mullah in a sentence

  • A mullah at Tehran University told Iranians on official TV that Jews use jinns, or genies, for espionage.

  • He would kill Henry Falkins here and now, and then go down like a mad mullah, satisfied to pay the penalty with his own life.

    The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville Buck
  • He made Kim learn whole chapters of the Koran by heart, till he could deliver them with the very roll and cadence of a mullah.

    Kim | Rudyard Kipling
  • Just before they entered it two more of the mullah's men came up with them, leading horses.

  • King nodded again, for a nod is less committal than a word; and the nod was enough to start the mullah off again.

  • The mullah snorted and went back to the fire, but he took King's cake of soap with him and sat examining it.

British Dictionary definitions for mullah

mullah

mulla mollah (ˈmɒlə)

/ (ˈmʌlə, ˈmʊlə) /


noun
  1. (formerly) a Muslim scholar, teacher, or religious leader: also used as a title of respect

Origin of mullah

1
C17: from Turkish molla, Persian and Hindi mulla, from Arabic mawlā master

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012