# ayatollah

> English word · Noun · IPA /aɪ.əˈtoʊl.ə/ · frequency rank #31,867

## Definitions
1. A religious leader in Twelver Shi'ism.
2. An authority on any subject.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Iranian Persian آیَتُاللّٰه (âyato-l-lâh), from Classical Persian آیَةُاللّٰه (āyatu-l-lāh), from Arabic آيَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ (ʔāyatu llāhi, “sign of God”, from آيَة (ʔāya, “sign”) + اللّٰه (allāh, “God”)).

## Common misspellings (11)
`aaytollah`, `ayaotllah`, `ayatlolah`, `ayatolah`, `ayatolalh`, `ayatollahh`, `ayatollha`, `ayattollah`, `aytaollah`, `ayyatollah`, `yaatollah`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ayatollah