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shiite

 - 3 dictionary results

Shi⋅ʿite

  [shee-ahyt]
Use shiite in a Sentence
–noun Islam.
a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam that regards Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, as the legitimate successor of Muhammad, and disregards the three caliphs who succeeded him.
Also, Shiite, Shiʿa, Shiʿah, Shi⋅ʿi  [shee-ee, shee-ee] .
Compare Sunni (def. 1).

Origin:
Shiʿah + -ite 1

Related forms:
Shi⋅ʿism  [shee-iz-uhm] , noun
Shi⋅ʿit⋅ic  [shee-it-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Shi·ite also Shi·'ite   (shē'īt')   
n.  A member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali and his descendants as the legitimate successors to Muhammad and rejects the first three caliphs.
adj.  Of or relating to the Shiites or their branch of Islam.

[Arabic šī'a, partisans; see Shiah.]
Shi·it'ic (-ĭt'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Shiite 
1728, "a member of the Shia sect of Islam," from Shiah (1626) from Arabic shi'ah "partisans, followers, sect, company, faction" (from sha'a "to follow") + -ite, Latin-derived suffix denoting "follower." Follower of the branch of Islam that recognizes Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, as the lawful successor of the Prophet; the minority who believed, after the death of the Prophet, that spiritual and political authority followed his family line, as opposed to the Sunni, who took Abu Bakr as the political leader of the community. The Arabic name is short for Shi'at Ali "the party of Ali."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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