sheik

[sheek, sheyk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sheik ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also shaikh, sheikh. (in Islamic countries) the patriarch of a tribe or family; chief: a term of polite address.

Slang. a man held to be masterful and irresistibly charming to women.

Nearby words

Origin of sheik

First recorded in 1570–80, sheik is from the Arabic word shaykh old man

Related formssheik·like, adjective

Can be confusedshake sheik (see synonym study at shake)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sheik

One of the most important rooms in the temple is the shrine of Sheik Adi ibn Musafir.
Fighting Back With Faith: Inside the Yezidis’ Iraqi Temple|Michael Luongo|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yezidis believe Sheik Adi was the possible reincarnation of Tawuse Melek.
Fighting Back With Faith: Inside the Yezidis’ Iraqi Temple|Michael Luongo|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“They are army, not militia,” the sheik repeated throughout our conversation.
The Brewing Battle for Baghdad|Jacob Siegel|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sheik seemed to keep his young fighter on hand for meetings with journalists.
The Brewing Battle for Baghdad|Jacob Siegel|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Sheik Rogo used to say my mother was fair: she gave one son to Obama and the other to Osama.
Death Squads in Kenya’s Shadow War on Shabaab Sympathizers|Margot Kiser|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sheik had hardly finished speaking before we heard a low wailing chant coming from beyond the fatal chamber.
The Treasure of the Tigris|A. F. Mockler Ferryman
The Sheik was not a good specimen of the effect produced by the diet to which he is subjected.
Eothen|A. W. Kinglake
The sheik pointed out to me the position of the water-skins, and two outlying horses which he had decided that we should seize.
The Treasure of the Tigris|A. F. Mockler Ferryman
The sheik has his hips covered with a kind of petticoat gathered into pleats in front.
A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II (of 2)|Georges Perrot
When the sheik required the services of any of them, the selected fedais 775 were intoxicated with the hashīsh.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7|Various

Word Origin and History for sheik

sheik

"head of an Arab family," also "head of a Muslim religious order," 1570s, from Arabic shaykh "chief," literally "old man," from base of shakha "to grow old." Popularized by "The Sheik," novel in Arabian setting by E.M. Hull (1919), and the movie version, "The Sheikh," 1921, starring Rudolph Valentino, which gave it a 1920s sense of "strong, romantic lover."

sheik

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of sheik

Examples from the Web for sheik

sheik