a·ya·tol·lah 
(ī′yə-tōlə, -tō-lä)
(ī′yə-tōlə, -tō-lä)n.
Islam
Islam
1. A high-ranking Shiite religious authority regarded as worthy of imitation in matters of religious law and interpretation.
2. Used as a title for such a leader.
[Persian āyatollāh, from Arabic 'āyatu llāh, sign of God : 'āyatu, bound form of 'āya, sign, Koranic verse; see ʾwy in the Appendix of Semitic roots + allāh, Allah; see ALLAH.]
- take the bull by the horns
- take the cake
- take the count
- take the fall
- take the fall/hit
- take the field
- take the floor
- take the heat
- take the hit
- take the law into (one's) own hands
- take the law into one's own hands
- take the law into own hands
- take the liberty
- take the mickey out of
- take the occasion
- take the piss out of
- take the plunge
- take the pulse of
- take the rap
- take the wind out of (one's) sails
- take the wind out of one's sails
- take the wind out of sails
- take time
- take to
- take to heart