ayatollah

English

Alternative forms

• ayatolla

Etymology

Borrowed from Iranian Persian آیت‌الله‎ (âyatollâh), from Classical Persian آیَت‌اُلله‎ (āyat-ullāh), from Arabic آيَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ‎ (ʔāyatu llāhi, “sign of God”), from آيَة‎ (ʔāya, “sign”) + اللّٰه‎ (allāh, “God”).

Noun

ayatollah (plural ayatollahs)

1. A religious leader in Twelver Shi'ism.
2. (colloquial) An authority on any subject.

Translations

a religious leader

• Albanian: ajatollah m
• Arabic: آيَةُ اللّٰه‎ f (ʔāyatu llāh)
• Armenian: այաթոլլա (hy) (ayatʿolla)
• Azerbaijani: ayətullah
• Bengali: আয়াতুল্লাহ (aẏatullah)
• Bulgarian: аятолах m (ajatolah)
• Catalan: aiatol·là (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 阿亞圖拉／阿亚图拉 (zh) (āyàtúlā)

• Czech: ajatolláh m
• Dutch: ayatollah (nl) m
• Esperanto: ajatolo
• Finnish: ajatollah (fi)
• French: ayatollah (fr) m
• Georgian: აიათოლა (aiatola)
• German: Ajatollah (de) m
• Greek: αγιατολάχ (el) m (agiatolách)
• Hebrew: אייתוללה‎
• Hindi: आयतुल्लाह m (āytullāh)
• Hungarian: ajatollah (hu)
• Indonesian: ayatullah (id)
• Italian: ayatollah (it) m
• Japanese: アヤトラ (ayatora)
• Kazakh: аятолла (aätolla)
• Korean: 아야톨라 (ayatolla)
• Malay: ayatollah
• Navajo: ayatʼólah
• Persian: آیَت‌اُلله‎ (fa) (âyat-ollâh)
• Polish: ajatollah (pl) m
• Portuguese: aiatolá (pt) m
• Russian: аятолла́ (ru) m (ajatollá)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ајатолах m

  Roman: ajatolah (sh) m

• Spanish: ayatolá m
• Swedish: ayatolla (sv) c
• Tajik: оятуллоҳ (tg) (oyatulloh)
• Thai: อายะตุลลอหฺ (aa-yá-dtun-lɔɔ)
• Turkish: ayetullah
• Ukrainian: аятола́ m (ajatolá)
• Urdu: آیَت اُللہ‎ m (āyat ullāh)
• Uyghur: ئايەتۇللا‎ (ayetulla)
• Uzbek: oyatulloh

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Iranian Persian آیت‌الله‎ (âyatollâh), from Arabic آيَةُ اللّٰه‎ (ʔāyatu llāh, “sign of God”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌaː.jaːˈtɔ.laː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: aya‧tol‧lah

Noun

ayatollah m (plural ayatollahs, diminutive ayatollaatje n)

1. A religious leader in Twelver Shi'ism.
2. Highest grade of theological scholarship in Shi'ism.
3. (by extension) A (thought) leader or key figure in general.
   • 2017, Alain Mouton, Het geld is op! De financiële putten van België:

     Van de ayatollah van de begrotingssanering die de Gentenaar in de jaren tachtig was, bleef er niet veel over.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Iranian Persian آیت‌الله‎ (âyatollâh), from Arabic آيَةُ اللّٰه‎ (ʔāyatu llāh, “sign of God”), from آيَة‎ (ʔāya, “sign”) + اللّٰه‎ (allāh, “God”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ja.tɔ.la/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

ayatollah m (plural ayatollahs)

1. ayatollah
2. (figurative, derogatory) strong proponent of something; person behaving tyrannically and despotically in a particular matter

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Iranian Persian آیت‌الله‎ (âyatollâh), from Arabic آيَةُ اللّٰه‎ (ʔāyatu llāh, “sign of God”), from آيَة‎ (ʔāya, “sign”) + اللّٰه‎ (allāh, “God”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ja.tolˈla/^**
• Rhymes: -a

Noun

ayatollah m (invariable)

1. ayatollah

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

ayatollah m

1. form removed by a 1984 spelling decision; superseded by ayatolla

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

ayatollah m

1. (pre-1984) alternative form of ayatolla

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French ayatollah, from Iranian Persian آیت‌الله‎ (âyatollâh), from Arabic آيَةُ اللّٰه‎ (ʔāyatu llāh, “sign of God”), from آيَة‎ (ʔāya, “sign”) + اللّٰه‎ (allāh, “God”).

Noun

ayatollah m (plural ayatollahi)

1. ayatollah

Declension

Declension of ayatollah

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) ayatollah	ayatollahul	(niște) ayatollahi	ayatollahii
genitive/dative	(unui) ayatollah	ayatollahului	(unor) ayatollahi	ayatollahilor
vocative	ayatollahule		ayatollahilor