shah

[shah, shaw]

noun

(often initial capital letter)

1. (formerly, in Iran) king; sovereign.

shah

/ ʃɑː /

noun

1. a ruler of certain Middle Eastern countries, esp (formerly) Iran

Other Word Forms

• shahdom noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shah¹

1560–70; < Persian: king

Word History and Origins

Origin of shah¹

C16: from Persian: king

Example Sentences

By the time the shah fell, Iran’s water systems were flourishing.

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Javidnia came to the U.S. in 1978 as a teenager, a year before revolution would lead to the overthrow of the shah and establishment of the Islamic Republic.

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Founded as a left-wing Muslim group, it previously staunchly opposed the shah.

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Back then, many groups of Iranians opposed to the shah — communists, secularists, Islamists — got behind Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolution.

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Alimouri’s “bleeding heart” came from his father, who fled Iran after opposing both the shah and the country’s Islamic regime, finding work in the United States as a chauffeur.

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Related Words

• czar 
• emperor 
• king 
• monarch 
• sultan