Ayatollah

n. title of respect for a Shiite Muslim religious leader

Ayatollah (Arabic: آية الله; Persian: آيت‌الله); is a high ranking title given to Shi'a clerics. The word means "Sign of God" and those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in seminaries of Islamic science. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin.
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Noun
1. a high-ranking Shiite religious leader who is regarded as an authority on religious law and its interpretation and who has political power as well
(hypernym) religious leader
(classification) Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Persia

n. ayatollah, title of respect for a Shiite Muslim religious leader

n. Ayatollah, title of respect for a Shiite Muslim religious leader; Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900-1989), Iranian Shiite religious leader who ruled Iran after the 1979 evolution that overthrew Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi