Etymology

alim

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Today it means: An educated scholar of Islamic law; a member of the ulema class Full definition →

Arabic عَالِم
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alim · noun1

  1. Arabic · derived fromعَالِم
  2. English todayalim

From Arabic عَالِم (ʕālim), active participle of عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”).

Alim · proper noun2

  1. Arabic · derived fromعَالِم“scholar, (specifically) expert in Islamic law and theology”
  2. English todayAlim

Mid 19th century; earliest use found in Edward Lane (1801–1876), orientalist. Partly from Arabic عَالِم (ʕālim, “scholar, (specifically) expert in Islamic law and theology”), use as noun of the active participle of عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”), and partly from Arabic عَالِم (ʕālim, “knowing, learned, also (as noun) scholar”) from عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.