transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈä-lä-wē ]
noun
also Al·a·wite ˌa-lə-ˈwēt
Etymology: Arabic ‘alawī, from the caliph ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, central figure in Shia Islam
Date: 1930
: a member of a religious sect living mainly in Syria that originated in Shiite Islam but separated from other Shiite Islam groups in the ninth and tenth centuries