Definitions

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

  • noun Used as a title and form of address for a male dignitary.
  • noun Used as a title for a descendant of the family of Muhammad.

Etymologies

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

[Arabic, from sāda, to become chief; see swd in Semitic roots.]

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Examples

  • The 39-year-old Sadr City native talked to NEWSWEEK at his home several times last week about the leader he calls the sayyid (an honorific signifying a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad).

    Interview: 'He Is Not an Ogre' 2007

  • "We should not fear introducing people to other ideas," said Sayyid Bahar al-Uloom, whose title sayyid is for those who trace their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad.

    The Washington Times stories: Latest Headlines 2010

  • "We should not fear introducing people to other ideas," said Sayyid Bahar al-Uloom, whose title sayyid is for those who trace their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad.

    The Washington Times stories: Latest Headlines 2010

  • "We should not fear introducing people to other ideas," says Bahar al-Uloom, whose title sayyid is for those who trace their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • "We should not fear introducing people to other ideas," said Sayyid Bahar al-Uloom, whose title sayyid is for those who trace their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad.

    The Washington Times stories: Latest Headlines 2010

  • "We should not fear introducing people to other ideas," says Bahar al-Uloom, whose title sayyid is for those who trace their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad.

    The News Tribune - Tacoma - - HOMEPAGE 2010

  • El Cid, whose name comes from the Arabic sayyid, meaning "lord," was a Spaniard who lived in the tumultuous age when Muslims, Jews and Christians all shared the Iberian peninsula.

    David Shasha: Charlton Heston's 'El Cid': A Hero for Our Time 2010

  • El Cid, whose name comes from the Arabic sayyid, meaning "lord," was a Spaniard who lived in the tumultuous age when Muslims, Jews and Christians all shared the Iberian peninsula.

    David Shasha: Charlton Heston's 'El Cid': A Hero for Our Time 2010

  • His nickname, for starters, is derived from the Arabic sayyid, meaning more-or-less "lord" (though he was of humble birth), and remains to this day a common honorific in the Arab world.

    A Spanish Epic Retold Paul Freedman 2009

  • The military's mere usage of "sayyid," -- an honorific reserved for descendents of the prophet Muhammad -- underscores the vastly different approach it is taking toward the man whose militia fought a series of brutal urban battles with coalition forces in 2004.

    War and Cease 2008

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