| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| ayatollah |
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| SYLLABICATION: | a·ya·tol·lah |
| PRONUNCIATION: |    y -t  l, -t-lä |
| NOUN: | Islam 1. A high-ranking Shiite religious authority regarded as worthy of imitation in matters of religious law and interpretation. 2. Used as a title for such a leader. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Persian  yatollh, from Arabic ’yatu llh, sign of God : ’yatu, bound form of ’ya, sign, Koranic verse; see  wy in Appendix II + allh, Allah; see Allah.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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