Imamate
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The office or jurisdiction of an imam.
"The Mahometans do not agree among themselves about this imamate, or dignity of the imam. Some think it of divine right, and attached to a single family, as the pontificate of Aaron. Others hold, that it is, indeed, of divine right, but deny it to be so attached to any single family, as that it may not be transferred to another."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of imamate, especially when referring to a specific imamate. alt-of
Example
More examples"The Mahometans do not agree among themselves about this imamate, or dignity of the imam. Some think it of divine right, and attached to a single family, as the pontificate of Aaron. Others hold, that it is, indeed, of divine right, but deny it to be so attached to any single family, as that it may not be transferred to another."
Etymology
From imam + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.