maulvi

M3A1U1L1V4I1
/ˈmaʊlvi/

noun

An imam; a Muslim doctor of law.

OriginUrdu مولوی ← Classical Persian مولوی ← Arabic مَوْلَوِيّ →
RareScrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounmaulvi (plural maulvis)

plural maulvis · alternative molvi · alternative moulvi · alternative mawlawi

  1. An imam; a Muslim doctor of law.
  2. South AsiabroadlyAny man of learning; a scholar, a teacher of Classical languages.

    He had a maulvi and a pandit to teach him Urdu and Hindi.

    2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 10

Origin

  1. Arabicمَوْلَوِيّ“of a lord or master”
  2. Classical Persianمولوی
  3. Urduمولوی
  4. Englishmaulvi

From Urdu مولوی (maulvi), and its source, Classical Persian مولوی (mawlawī), noun use of Arabic مَوْلَوِيّ (mawlawiyy, “of a lord or master”), ultimately from مَوْلًى (mawlan, “master”). Compare Mevlevi, mullah, maulana.

More words from Urdu, Classical Persian, Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Valium
Cite this entry
APA

maulvi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maulvi

MLA

“maulvi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maulvi. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maulvi,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maulvi.

Source: maulvi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.