Alawi
/ˈaləwi
/(also Alawite /ˈaləwʌɪt/)
noun (plural Alawis)
A member of a Shiite Muslim group living mainly in Syria.There are five Muslim sects in Lebanon: Sunnis, Shi'is, Druze, Alawis, and Ismailis....
- Mr. Hadimogullari is an Alawite whose grandparents found themselves Turkish citizens when his hometown, Samandag, formerly part of Syria, was ceded to Turkey in 1923.
- "We are about 50,000 Alawites," he said.
adjective
Relating to or denoting the Alawis.Tripoli is home to many members of Lebanon's small Alawite minority population....
- He was a member of the small Alawite Shi'ite community in a country of predominantly Sunni Muslims.
- It is a Sunni town with an Alawite town less than a mile to the south, interspersed with Christian and more Sunni settlements.
Origin
Late 19th century: Arabic ‘Alawī '(follower or descendant) of Ali' (see Ali).