( ar, رئیس), plural , is an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

meaning 'chief' or 'leader'. It comes from the word for head, . The corresponding word for leadership or chieftaincy is . It is often translated as 'president' in

, and as 'boss' in Persian. Swahili speakers may also use it for president. The

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

form of the title is

reis Reis may refer to : *Reis (surname), a Portuguese and German surname *Reis (military rank), an Ottoman military rank and obscure Lebanese/Syrian noble title Currency *Portuguese Indian rupia (subdivided into ''réis''), the currency of Portugues ...

, which denoted a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

(a term with identical etymology, being from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, 'head'). The term is of pre-Islamic origin. It may function as an honorific '' laqab'' in a person's name. In the central

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

, the term originally meant village headman.

British India

In British India the landed nobility in Muslim societies often used the word to describe their aristocratic position held in society. The term was also often used by Muslims when making deed of endowments in their community. Although the word meant 'chief' or 'leader', legal documents used it in the context of 'landlords' or landowners. Other terms such as or ''

zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...

'' also appeared as 'landlords', ‘landowners, or 'taxers', even though these titles implied that the individual who bore them was more ruler than proprietor.Muslim Endowments and Society in British India, By: Gregory C. Kozlowski. pp 47-48. Cambridge University Press, 1985. However, when describing any aspect of the management of their holdings, ' or ''zamindars''' employed regal terminology. The sat upon a throne (''masand or gaddi''). ''Riayat'', whom British preferred to call tenants or cultivators were literally subjects. When a met with his ''riayat'' he described himself as holding court (''darbar''). The money which ''riayat'' paid his lord was tribute (''nazrana'') not rent. The place where he paid the tribute was called a ''kachari'', just as a government revenue office was, and the clerks who collected, kept accounts and ensured tributes kept coming on time were known by their Mughal courtly styles of (''dewans'') and (''sipahis'' – a horse trooper).

Urdu

From Arabic, via Persian, this word came into

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

of noble distinction. In

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' old money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able t ...

," as the opposite or antonym of nouveau riche, a person who has accumulated considerable wealth within his or her generation. When the book "The Pleasure of Philosophy" by Will Durant was translated into Urdu, by Syed

Abid Ali Abid Abid Ali Abid (Urdu/Persian language, Persian: سید عابد علی عابد) was a Pakistani Urdu and Persian language, Persian poet and educator who was born on 17 September 1906 in Dera Ismail Khan, British India and died in Peshawar, Lahore ...

, he translated the word aristocracy with the Urdu word ().

Palestine

The Arabic adjective '' ' '''(meaning 'great'), is also added to mean 'the great '. This term, as well as the Hebrew term (

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

), are used by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i media to refer to the President of the Palestinian National Authority, as opposed to (president). In a New York Times op-ed, commentator Bret Stephens referred to late Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat as "the rais."

References

{{Reflist Arabic honorifics Swahili words and phrases Heads of state Islamic honorifics Military ranks Royal titles Noble titles Positions of authority Titles of national or ethnic leadership Titles in India Titles in Afghanistan Titles in Pakistan Ottoman titles Turkish titles Titles in Iran