Dhimma

//ˈdɪmə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A form of social contract in a state under sharia law granting special status to all or certain non-Muslim subjects, providing rights of residence in return for taxes.
  2. 2
    A dhimmi.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Arabic ذِمَّة (ḏimma, “protection, custody”), from ذَمَّ (ḏamma, “to blame”).

Related phrases

social contract

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.