Link Centre Dictionary

ulema

UK/ˈʊləmə/ US/ˈuːlɪmə/ uncommon

noun

1.

the body of mullahs (Muslim scholars trained in Islam and Islamic law) who are the interpreters of Islam''s sciences and doctrines and laws and the chief guarantors of continuity in the spiritual and intellectual history of the Islamic community

Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish علما (ulemâ), from Arabic عُلَمَاء (ʕulamāʔ, plural of عَالِم (ʕālim, “learned one”)). Doublet of ulama and olema.

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Broader terms

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.