— Sunnism , n.
/soon"ee/ , n. Islam.
1. Also called Sunnite . a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam, regarding the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad and stressing the importance of Sunna as a basis for law. Cf. Shi'ite .
2. ( used with a pl. v. ) the Sunni Muslims.
[ 1620-30; sunni, deriv. of sunnah SUNNA ]