Islamic

How to spell islamic

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce islamic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does islamic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Islam, the religion founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, or to its followers and culture.

Islamic in a sentence

• The museum opened a new gallery devoted to islamic art and calligraphy.

• She wrote her thesis on islamic banking and its rules about interest.

Where does islamic come from?

Language of origin: Arabic

This adjective is built on Islam, which comes directly from the Arabic word islām, literally meaning 'submission' or 'surrender', specifically the act of submitting to the will of God. That noun derives from the Arabic verbal root s-l-m, the same three consonants that give salām, meaning 'peace', and the familiar greeting salaam, so the ideas of peace and submission are bound together at the root. English added the Latin-derived ending -ic, used to form adjectives meaning 'relating to', producing a word for anything connected to the faith and civilisation of Islam. The term entered English in the early modern period as European scholars and traders wrote increasingly about the Muslim world, and earlier English texts sometimes used now-dated alternatives before 'Islamic' settled as the standard form. The single 's' and single 'l' are the spelling points worth fixing in memory, since the word is short and regular once you recall it mirrors Islam exactly with an added ending.

How the word is built

• Islam (from Arabic islām: submission to God)
• -ic (adjective suffix: relating to)