Alawi

noun

Ala·​wi ˈä-lə-wē 

ˈä-lä-

variants or less commonly Alawite

ˌa-lə-ˈwēt 

: a member of a religious sect living mainly in Syria that originated in Shiite Islam but separated from other Shiite groups in the ninth and tenth centuries

Word History

Etymology

Arabic ʽalawī, from the caliph ʽAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, central figure in Shia Islam

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined above