# sheik

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃeɪk/ · frequency rank #25,572

## Definitions
1. The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe.
2. An Islamic religious cleric; the master of a Sufi order.
3. An official title for members of the royal family as well as some prominent families.
4. A romantic lover.
5. An Arab, especially one dressed in traditional clothing.
6. An honorific for specialists in spirituality, for example in Sufism.

## Etymology
From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ, “elder”). Sense 4 (“a romantic lover”) is from the 1921 film The Sheik.

## Easily confused with
- **shi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shi)
- **sik** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-sik)
- **shit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shit)
- **ship** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-ship)
- **shin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shin)
- **Shri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shri)
- **Shen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shen)
- **shiv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shiv)
- **shep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shep)
- **Shih** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shih)
- **Shem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shem)
- **shim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shim)
- **Shek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shek)
- **speak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-speak)
- **shock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shock)
- **shell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shell)
- **shook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shook)
- **shelf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shelf)
- **sneak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-sneak)
- **steak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-steak)

## Common misspellings (7)
`hseik`, `sehik`, `sheikk`, `sheki`, `shheik`, `shiek`, `ssheik`

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