Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

maulvi

/ˈmaʊlvi/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.79 in modern English

Syllables: maul-vi
IPA: /ˈmaʊlvi/

11

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An imam; a Muslim doctor of law.

noun

Any man of learning; a scholar, a teacher of Classical languages.

Example Sentences

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

Etymology

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.

Word Breakdown

Root: و ل ي

Inflected Forms

maulvis (plural) molvi (alternative) moulvi (alternative) mawlawi (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce maulvi?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmaʊlvi/.
What does maulvi mean?: An imam; a Muslim doctor of law.
Where does maulvi come from?: 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.

How to pronounce maulvi

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