emir

Also a·meer,
Or a·mir

[uh-meer, ey-meer, ey-meer]

noun

1. a chieftain, prince, commander, or head of state in some Islamic countries.

2. a title of honor of the descendants of Muhammad.

3. (initial capital letter),  the former title of the ruler of Afghanistan.

4. a title of certain Turkish officials.

emir

/ ɛˈmɪə /

noun

1. an independent ruler or chieftain

2. a military commander or governor

3. a descendant of Mohammed

Word History and Origins

Origin of emir¹

First recorded in 1625–35; from Arabic ʾamīr “commander, prince,” from ʾamara “to command, order”

Word History and Origins

Origin of emir¹

C17: via French from Spanish emir, from Arabic ' amīr commander

Example Sentences

The relationship dates to the 1990s, when Qatar’s former emir offered Hamas members sanctuary after they were expelled from Jordan.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“It’s not like al Qaeda or ISIS, where you have a command or an emir in charge giving orders,” Hoffman said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As Irish hotelier Patrick McKillen tells it, he met the former emir of Qatar on a yacht in Doha to discuss a business opportunity in California, more than 8,000 miles away.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She is expected to be at the farewells to the emir on Wednesday.

Read more on BBC

“Apart from killing a member of the emir’s staff, it also seriously injured another person - not also forgetting the damage it regularly does to our farmlands.”

Read more on BBC