Etymology

mullah

M3U1L1L1A1H4

Today it means: An honorific title for a scholar of theology and sharia law. Full definition →

Classical Persian مُلَّا ← Arabic مَوْلًى
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The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromمَوْلًى“vicar, guardian”
  2. Classical Persian · derived fromمُلَّا
  3. English todaymullah

Derived from Classical Persian مُلَّا (mullā), from Arabic مَوْلًى (mawlan, “vicar, guardian”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.