Late 18th century. From Arabic matāwila (in various colloquial pronunciations), either plural of (al-)mutawālī with sense of (al-)muwālī, use as noun of active participle of wālā to be a friend, supporter, or adherent of (in this context, Ahl al-Bayt, lit. ‘ The People of the House’, the family of the Prophet), or irregular plural of (al-)mutawallī, use as noun of active participle of tawallā to choose friendship with or bond of allegiance to (in this context, ʿAlī and ‘The People of his House’, descended from his cousin and father-in-law, the Prophet).