ayatollah

English

Alternative forms

• ayatolla

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian آیت‌الله‎ (âyatollâh), from Arabic آيَةُ اللّٰه‎ (ʾāyatu llāh, “sign of God”), from آيَة‎ (ʾāya, “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 (ʾāyatu llāh)
• Armenian: այաթոլլա (hy) (ayatʿolla)
• Azerbaijani: ayətullah
• Bengali: আয়াতুল্লাহ (ayatullah)
• Bulgarian: аятолах m (ajatolah)
• Catalan: aiatol·là m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 阿亞圖拉 (zh), 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: आयतोल्ला m (āyatollā)
• Hungarian: ajatollah (hu)
• Indonesian: ayatullah (id)

• Italian: ayatollah m
• Japanese: アヤトラ (ayatora)
• Kazakh: аятолла (ayatolla)
• Korean: 아야톨라 (ayatolla)
• Malay: ayatollah
• Navajo: ayatʼólah
• Persian: آیت‌الله‎ (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
• Urdu: آیت اللہ‎ (āyatu-llāh)
• Uyghur: ئايەتۇللا‎ (ayetulla)
• Uzbek: oyatulloh

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian آیت‌الله‎ (âyatollâh), from Arabic آيَةُ اللّٰه‎ (ʾāyatu 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 quote)

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French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ja.tɔ.la/

Noun

ayatollah m (plural ayatollahs)

1. ayatollah

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Italian

Etymology

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

Noun

ayatollah m (invariable)

1. ayatollah