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• shiah
  shiah

  noun

  the Shiʿites.
• Shiah
  Shiah

  noun

  one of the two main branches of Islam (the other being the Sunni), making up a tenth or more of the entire Muslim population, and forming the majority in Iran and Iraq, which regards Mohammed's cousin Ali and his successors as the true imams

shiah

American  

[shee-uh] / ˈʃi ə /

Or Shiʿa

noun

Islam.

1. (used with a plural verb) the Shiʿites.

2. (used with a singular verb) Shiʿite.

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Shiah British  

/ ˈʃiːə /

noun

1. one of the two main branches of Islam (the other being the Sunni), making up a tenth or more of the entire Muslim population, and forming the majority in Iran and Iraq, which regards Mohammed's cousin Ali and his successors as the true imams

2. another name for Shiite

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adjective

1. designating or characteristic of this sect or its beliefs and practices

Etymology

Origin of shiah

First recorded in 1620–30, Shiʿah is from the Arabic word shīʿah literally, sect

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Shiah

I'm very good friends with his eldest son, Shiah, who plays with me now.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 19, 2012

Its 20,000 Syrian inhabitants usually live in separate villages from the Kurds, Persians, and Armenians, and are surrounded on all sides by Moslems of the Shiah sect.

From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)

The Shiah sect of Moslems, however, numbering about fifteen millions,—of which eight millions are Persians,—do not regard representations of animals as unlawful.

From Rugs: Oriental and Occidental, Antique & Modern A Handbook for Ready Reference by Holt, Rosa Belle

There are many Jews, otherwise the people are Shiah Moslems, with an increasing admixture of the secret sect of the Bābis.

From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume I (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)

This made him suspect those who still adhered to the tenets of the Shiah sect, or, in other words, almost all the natives of Persia.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 13 by Rudd, John