Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A prince, chieftain, or governor, especially in the Middle East.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Among Arabs and other Mohammedan peoples. a chief of a family or tribe; a ruling prince. See ameer.
  • noun Specifically, a title sometimes given to the descendants of Mohammed.
  • noun In Turkey, with a specific designation of office or duty, a head of a department of government; a chief officer.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun An Arabian military commander, independent chieftain, or ruler of a province; also, an honorary title given to the descendants of Mohammed, in the line of his daughter Fatima; among the Turks, likewise, a title of dignity, given to certain high officials.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a prince, commander or other leader or ruler in an Islamic nation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French émir, from Arabic ’amīr, commander, prince, from ’amara, to command; see ℵmr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Arabic أَمِير (amīr), commander, prince.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word emir.

Examples

  • Dost Muhammad took the title emir al-mu'minin (commander of the faithful) in preparation for his holy war against the Sikhs.

    c. Afghanistan 2001

  • But more importantly, I think you're absolutely correct, is he's trying to sort of stave off any indications that he's sort of a lesser to who he calls the emir in this video, by the way, bin Laden.

    CNN Transcript Apr 26, 2006 2006

  • The very name, derived from the root ` amir 'or ` emir,' is symbolic of that, and the silver ear is symbolic of the authority of the Lord High Admiral who, whether he exercises that office individually, or whether it is, as it now is and has been for a long time, in Commission, is the representative of the Crown in the Admiralty.

    The Symbol of Admiralty Jurisdiction 1935

  • Father-of-two Shahjahan - who was referred to as the "emir", or leader, by other members of the terror group - had the highest profile and had given a number of media interviews, the court heard.

    WalesOnline - Home WalesOnline 2012

  • The city of Annah, or Anatho, 49 the actual residence of an Arabian emir, is composed of two long streets, which enclose, within a natural fortification, a small island in the midst, and two fruitful spots on either side, of the

    The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206

  • He who was in charge of it, whom they called the emir, immediately prepared to enter into an agreement, and soon accepted our men and their banners in the city.

    The Deeds of God Through the Franks Abbot of Nogent-sous-Coucy Guibert 1088

  • ‘Scherirah,’ continued Alroy, ‘this noble emir is your charge.

    Chapter 18 - Part VII 1822

  • He is now said to be, according to U.S. forces, the so-called emir of Baghdad.

    CNN Transcript Jul 14, 2005 2005

  • He is said to be the so-called emir of Baghdad, the leader of Zarqawi's terrorist operations in Baghdad, said to be a key lieutenant of Zarqawi.

    CNN Transcript Jul 14, 2005 2005

  • And that is the relationship between the emir, which is Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (ph) and what he has basically said the U.S. government can do.

    CNN Transcript Oct 7, 2002 2002

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Rime in reverse.

    July 22, 2007