sheik

Meanings

1. The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe.
2. An Islamic religious cleric; the master of a Sufi order.
3. An official title for members of the royal family as well as some prominent families.
4. A romantic lover.
5. An Arab, especially one dressed in traditional clothing.
6. An honorific for specialists in spirituality, for example in Sufism.

Etymology

From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ, “elder”). Sense 4 (“a romantic lover”) is from the 1921 film The Sheik.