( 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; Walte ...

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 Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...

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 exten ...

form of the title is reis, 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 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 the power ...

, 'head'). The term is of pre-Islamic origin. It may function as an honorific ''

laqab Arabic language names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from the Arabic-speaking and also Muslim countries have not had given/middle/ family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout ...

'' 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 Landed nobility or landed aristocracy is a category of nobility in the history of various countries, for which landownership was part of their noble privileges. Their character depends on the country. *The notion of landed gentry in the United K ...

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: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

'' 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"
''

as , which means a person belonging to the aristocracy of noble distinction. In

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

, the word is also used similarly to the English term "

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 to ...

," as the opposite or antonym of

nouveau riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ...

, a person who has accumulated considerable wealth within his or her generation. When the book "The Pleasure of Philosophy" by

Will Durant William James Durant (; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American writer, historian, and philosopher. He became best known for his work ''The Story of Civilization'', which contains 11 volumes and details the history of eastern an ...

was translated into Urdu, by Syed

Abid Ali Abid Abid Ali Abid (Urdu/Persian: سید عابد علی عابد) was a Pakistani Urdu and Persian poet and educator who was born on 17 September 1906 in Dera Ismail Khan, British India and died in Lahore, Pakistan on 20 January 1971. Life He wrot ...

, 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), 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 The president of the Palestinian National Authority ( ar, رئيس السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية) is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The presiden ...

, 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