shah
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shah
1560–70; < Persian: king
Explanation
In Iran, an emperor or king was historically called a shah. The last shah was overthrown in 1979, during the Iranian Revolution. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, is often simply referred to as "the Shah." During his rule, he gave himself the title Shahanshah, or "king of kings." Shah has a Persian root, and the history of shahs goes all the way back to the Persian Empire in the sixth century BCE. Iran's last shah was exiled to Egypt during the Iranian Revolution, and the monarchy was officially abolished.
Vocabulary lists containing shah
Once There Was
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Only This Beautiful Moment
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We then allowed the shah to assume absolute control.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Azar Nafisi, an English literature professor who got her doctorate at the University of Oklahoma, returned to her native Tehran just after the tides of history swept away the shah and swept in the ayatollah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the last shah of Iran and pretender to the throne, was a scheduled speaker, and the event was packed with Iranian monarchists.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026
Others have clamored for Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah, to return.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
Meanwhile, post-coup, the shah and his family were living it up on diamond-studded thrones until everything went off the rails again in 1978.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
