شریف

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf, “noble, honored”).

Adjective

شریف • (şerif)

1. noble, highborn, of or relating to the nobility, especially in contrast to the masses

   Synonym: اصیل (asil)

2. noble, gracious, magnanimous, having moral eminence and freedom from anything petty

   Synonym: كریم (kerim)

3. holy, sacred, godly, characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use

   Synonyms: عزیز (ʼazîz), مبارك (mübârek), مقدس (mukaddes)

Noun

شریف • (şerif) (definite accusative شریفی (şerifi), plural اشراف (eşrâf) or شرفا (şürefâ))

1. (Islam, historical) shereef, a member of an Arab princely family descended from Muhammad through his son-in-law Ali and daughter Fatima

Derived terms

• حط شریف (hatt-ı şerif, “sacred rescript of the Sultan”)
• شام شریف (şam-ı şerif, “Damascus”)
• شریف مكه (şerif-i mekke, “governor of Mecca”)
• شریفه (şerife, “lady descendant of Muhammad”)
• قدس شریف (kudus-ı şerif, “Jerusalem, the Holy”)

Descendants

• Turkish: şerif

Further reading

• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “şerif1”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 4462
• Devellioğlu, Ferit (1962) “şerîf”, in Osmanlıca-Türkçe Ansiklopedik Lûgat‎‎^[1] (in Turkish), Istanbul: Türk Dil Kurumu, page 1187
• Kélékian, Diran (1911) “شریف”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎^[2], Constantinople: Mihran, page 726
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Nobilis”, 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 1142
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “شریف”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎^[4], Vienna, column 2809
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “şerif1”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Redhouse, James W. (1890) “شریف”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[5], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1124

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʃa.ˈɾiːf]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃä.ɾíːf]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃä.ɾíːf]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʃä.ɾíːf]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʃä.ɾíf]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃæ.ɹíːf]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃä.ɾíf]

Readings
Classical reading?	šarīf
Dari reading?	šarīf
Iranian reading?	šarif
Tajik reading?	šarif

Adjective

شریف • (šarif)

1. noble, aristocratic

   مرد شریف ― mard-e šarif ― noble man

   دودمانی شریف ― dudmâni šarif ― an aristocratic lineage

   • c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume II, verse 1428:

     چون که دزدی باری آن در لطیف
     چون که حامل میشوی باری شریف

     čōn ki duzdī bār-ē ān dar latīf
     čōn ki hāmil mē-šawī bār-ē-i šarīf

     As you (must) steal, at any rate (let it be) that lovely pearl;
     as you are going to bear a burden, at any rate (let it be) a noble one.

2. (honorific) Used as an honorific adjective.

   اسم شریف شما ― esm-e šarif-e šomâ ― your illustrious name

Noun

شریف • (šarif) (plural اشراف (ašrâf) or شرفا (šorafâ) or شریفان (šarifân))

1. noble, aristocrat

   طبقه اشراف ― tabaqe-ye ašrâf ― aristocratic classes

2. (historical) the Sharif of Mecca

Proper noun

شریف • (šarif)

1. a surname, Sharif, from Arabic

   مجید شریف ― majid-e šarif ― Majid Sharif (Iranian writer)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian شَرِیف (šarīf), from Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ʃə.ɾiːf/

Adjective

شَرِیف • (śarīf) (Hindi spelling शरीफ़)

1. meek, gentle, noble, upstanding