emir

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e·mir

(ĭ-mîr′, ā-mîr′) also a·mir (ə-mîr′, ā-mîr′)

A prince, chieftain, or governor, especially in the Middle East.

[French émir, from Arabic 'amīr, commander, prince, from 'amara, to command; see ʔmr in Semitic roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

emir

(ɛˈmɪə)

(in the Islamic world) n

1. (Islam) an independent ruler or chieftain

2. (Islam) a military commander or governor

3. (Islam) a descendant of Mohammed

Also spelt: amir

[C17: via French from Spanish emir, from Arabic `amīr commander]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

e•mir

(əˈmɪər, eɪˈmɪər)

n.

1. a prince, commander, or head of state in some Islamic countries.

2. a title of honor of the descendants of Muhammad.

3. (cap.) the former title of the ruler of Afghanistan.

4. a title of certain Turkish officials.

[1615–25; < Arabic amīr commander]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

emir - an independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia)

ameer, amir, emeer

Arabia, Arabian Peninsula - a peninsula between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf; strategically important for its oil resources

Africa - the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean

ruler, swayer - a person who rules or commands; "swayer of the universe"

Translations

emiiri

emir

emir

[eˈmɪəʳ] N → emir m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

emir

[ɛˈmɪə^r] n → émir m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

emir

n → Emir m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

emir

[ɛˈmɪəʳ] n → emiro

References in classic literature ?

"Moreover," the Sheikh added, "in the days of the Oppression the Emirs and their creatures dispossessed many people of their lands.

Did the Judges kill the Emirs? We would rather be judged by the men who executed God's judgment on the Emirs.

It was a year since he had seen the Emirs stretched close and still round the reddened sheepskin where lay El Mahdi, the Prophet of God.

Let Our Excellency turn out the creatures of the Emirs who stole our land in the days of the Oppression."

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"You need not be shocked," said the king; "this is one of my emirs who asks your hand in marriage."

Princess Badoura, delighted to see him looking himself once more, turned to the other emirs, saying:

An elderly emir present, fired with the desire to possess a young and lovely wife and to rule over a great kingdom, offered to try the magic arts with which he was acquainted.

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When the last echo of his sultan's step has died away, and Starbuck, the first Emir, has every reason to suppose that he is seated, then Starbuck rouses from his quietude, takes a few turns along the planks, and, after a grave peep into the binnacle, says, with some touch of pleasantness, Dinner, Mr.

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His black hair, cropped close, was lightly powdered with silver, and his dense glossy beard, that of an emir or a caliph, and grown for civil reasons, repeated its handsome colour and its somewhat foreign effect.

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He took part calmly in a number of political assassinations; and he turned his diabolical inventive powers against the Emir of Afghanistan, who was at war with the Persian empire.

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This very garden, filled as it is with curious herbs and trees sent from the Eastern climes, better becomes the harem of an unbelieving Emir, than the plot which Christian Monks should devote to raise their homely pot-herbs.

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His dark eyes and swarthy skin and Paynim features suited the costume exactly: he looked the very model of an Eastern emir, an agent or a victim of the bowstring.