sheik
[sheek, sheyk]
- 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.
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Origin of sheik
First recorded in 1570–80, sheik is from the Arabic word shaykh old man
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sheik
Contemporary Examples
One of the most important rooms in the temple is the shrine of Sheik Adi ibn Musafir.
Yezidis believe Sheik Adi was the possible reincarnation of Tawuse Melek.
“They are army, not militia,” the sheik repeated throughout our conversation.
The sheik seemed to keep his young fighter on hand for meetings with journalists.
Sheik Rogo used to say my mother was fair: she gave one son to Obama and the other to Osama.
Historical Examples
Certainly, sheik; it will not take him five minutes to make his preparations.
At Aboukir and AcreGeorge Alfred Henty
When the sheik woke, after two hours' sleep, he drank some broth.
At Aboukir and AcreGeorge Alfred Henty
The hammock had been lowered to the ground, and Ali was holding the cup to the sheik's lips.
At Aboukir and AcreGeorge Alfred Henty
"Don't say any thing about it, sheik," Edgar said earnestly.
At Aboukir and AcreGeorge Alfred Henty
"Let us not talk more of them," the sheik said contemptuously.
At Aboukir and AcreGeorge Alfred Henty
Word Origin and History for sheik
n.
"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."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper