Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

maulana

/ˈmaʊlənə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.62 in modern English

Syllables: maulana
IPA: /ˈmaʊlənə/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A religious scholar, especially in Central and South Asia.

noun

A Muslim person in general, especially an extreme conservative.

Indian usage

Example Sentences

"At the end of his long and cantankerous life the maulana had gone against all his high principles. He had gone to a Boston hospital to look for health; he had at the very end entrusted himself to the skill and science of the civilization he had tried to shield his followers from."

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani मौलाना (maulānā) / مَولَانَا (maulānā), from Classical Persian مَوْلَانَا (mawlānā), ultimately from Arabic مَوْلَانَا (mawlānā, “our lord”). The Indian slang usage of the term for any Muslim person was derived from a stereotype, especially towards Muslims who look stereotypical (beard, robes, and skullcap).

Origin

Source language: Arabic

Word Breakdown

Root: مَوْلَانَا, و ل ي

Usage

Indian usage

Inflected Forms

maulanas (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

maulvi mullah mawla

Questions

How do you pronounce maulana?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmaʊlənə/.
What does maulana mean?: A religious scholar, especially in Central and South Asia.
Where does maulana come from?: It is traced to Arabic.

How to pronounce maulana

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “maulana”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmaʊlənə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “maulana”.
Repeat and practice — Say “maulana” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.