اولیا

Old Anatolian Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic أَوْلِيَاء (ʔawliyāʔ), plural of وَلِيّ (waliyy, “prophet, saint”). Compare Turkmen öwlüýä and Uzbek avliyo.

Noun

اولیا • (evliyā) (definite accusative اولیایی (evliyāyı), plural اولیالر (evliyālar))

1. (Islam, religion) one who displays a lot of religious virtues, and therefore is thought to have reached a supreme religious degree and/or God's love, and is recognized as holy; saint, wali.
   • 13th Century, Behcetü'l-Hadâik Fî Mevʼziati'l-Hadâik, page 28a:

     و قامو پیغامبرلر و اولیٰالَرْ دِزٍ دُشالَرْ

     ve qamu peyġāmberler ve evliyālar dizin düşeler

     and all saints and prophets shall fall on their knees

   Synonyms: ولی (veli), ارن (ẹren, eren), ار (er, ẹr)

2. (literary) plural of ولی (velī, “wali”)
   • 1330, Âşık Paşa, Garib-nâme:

     اَنْدَنْ صُكْرَه بَلْكِمْ عُلَمآءِ شَرِيعَتْ وَاَبْنآءِ طَرِيقَتْ وَاَصْحَابِ حَقِيقَتْ • وَمَشَايِخْ وَاَوْلِيَا وَاَصْفٖیَا اَنْلَركِمْ مُبَارِزِ دِينْ وَسِبَاعِ غَابَۀِ يَقِينْ • وَأِمَامِ اَهْلِ اِيمَانْ وَمُقْتَدَایِ قَافِلَۀِ اِسْلَامْ‌دُرْلَرْ

     andan soŋra bil-kim ʼülemā-i şerīʼet ve-ebnā-i ṭerīqet ve-eṣḥāb-i ḥeqīqet, ve-meşāyiḫ ve-evliyā ve-eṣfiyā anlar-kim mübāriz-i dīn ve-sibāʼ-i ġābe-i yeqīn ve-imām-ı ehl-i īmān ve-müqtedā-yı qāfile-i islām-durlar

     and then, know that the ulema of Islam and the founders of sects and true friends and followers and walis and all the poeple in the right path; all the defenders and heroes of the religion are the ones that follow behind the heads of the followers of Islam and the collective of Islam

Descendants

• Azerbaijani: övliya
• Ottoman Turkish: اولیا (evliya)
  • Turkish: evliya

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish اولیا (evliyā), from Arabic أَوْلِيَاء (ʔawliyāʔ), plural of وَلِيّ (waliyy, “prophet, saint”). Compare Turkmen öwlüýä and Uzbek avliyo.

Noun

اولیا • (evliya) (definite accusative اولیایی (evliyayı), plural اولیالر (evliyalar))

1. (Islam, religion) (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) saint, wali, a deceased person officially recognised as especially holy or godly by Muslims

   Synonyms: عزیز (ʼaziz), ولی (veli)

2. plural of ولی (veli, “wali”)

Derived terms

• اولیا دوه‌سی (evliya devesi, “woodlouse”)
• اولیالق (evliyalık, “sainthood”)

Descendants

• Turkish: evliya

Further reading

click to expand

• Barbier de Meynard, Charles (1881) “اولیا”, in Dictionnaire turc-français, volume I, Paris: E. Leroux, page 195
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “evliya”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 1519
• Devellioğlu, Ferit (1962) “evliyâ'”, in Osmanlıca-Türkçe Ansiklopedik Lûgat‎‎^[1] (in Turkish), Istanbul: Türk Dil Kurumu, page 289
• Kélékian, Diran (1911) “اولیا”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎^[2], Constantinople: Mihran, page 203
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Sancti”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎^[3], Vienna, column 1507
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “اولیا”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎^[4], Vienna, column 549
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “evliya”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Redhouse, James W. (1890) “اولیا”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[5], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 269

Persian

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʔaw.li.jɑː]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.li.jɑː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.li.jɑː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.li.jɑː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.li.jɔː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔow.li.jɒː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.li.jɔ]

Readings
Classical reading?	awliyā
Dari reading?	awliyā
Iranian reading?	owliyâ
Tajik reading?	avliyo

Noun

اولیا • (owliyâ)

1. Hamza-less form of اولیاء

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian اَوْلِیَاء (awliyā'), from Arabic أَوْلِيَاء (ʔawliyāʔ).

Noun

اولیا • (auliyā) (Hindi spelling औलिया)

1. plural of وَلی (valī) — friends (of God), saints, holy men, prophets, apostles.