sheik

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ, “elder”).

noun

1. The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe.
2. An Islamic religious cleric; the leader of an Islamic religious order.
   He then studied under a variety of scholars (shuyook) and institutes around the world in his quest for authentic knowledge. 01-08-2013, Islamic Online University Insights, archived from the original on 2021-10-25, page 10
3. (some Arab Gulf countries) An official title for members of the royal family as well as some prominent families.
4. (1920s) A romantic lover. (from the 1921 film The Sheik)
   When your last natural tooth goes, the time when you can kid yourself that you're a Hollywood sheik, is definitely at an end. 1939, George Orwell, Coming Up for Air, part 1, chapter 1
5. (slang) An Arab, especially one dressed in traditional clothing.
6. An honorific for specialists in spirituality, for example in Sufism.