Where does “ulema” come from?

Ulema comes from Arabic عُلَمَاء, the plural of عَالِم, derived from the verb عَلِمَ meaning to know, ultimately from Proto-Semitic walad-.

ulema (English): plural of alim; the guardians of legal and...

Definitions

  1. plural of alim; the guardians of legal and...

Ancestry of “ulema”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ottoman Turkishعلما—
2Arabicعُلَمَاء—
3Arabicعَالِمknowing, learned, also scholar; learned one;...
4Arabicعَلِمَto know, to perceive, to distinguish
5Arabicلto, for, belonging to; لَـ •; Used to express...
6Proto-Semitic*lV-for, to

Words derived from “ulema”

Every word from Proto-Semitic *lV- →Every word from Arabic ل →Every word from Arabic عَلِمَ →