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“Chic” or “Sheik” or “Sheikh”

chic / sheik / sheikh are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

chic sh·IY·k

  • nounelegance by virtue of being fashionable.
  • adjectiveelegant and stylish.

sheik sh·IY·k

  • nounthe leader of an Arab village or family.

sheikh sh·IY·k

No dictionary entry for this spelling — see the usage examples below for how it shows up in writing.

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“chic”

  • (1976), and by the band Chic with their hit "Dance, Dance,…
  • …guitar-pop based material, instead utilising Chic style guitar-funk and a bubbling…
  • …for the French phrase "bon chic, bon genre," a Parisian slang…
  • Famous Ohio State footballer Chic Harley graduated from here.
  • …cover art of the album Chic, also in 1977.
  • …banlieues ("suburbs", sometimes qualified as "chic" or "pauvres" or les cités…
  • …music scene with a powerful chic black-toned concept, deviating from the…
  • …because in his words, "Western chic was a huge trend".
  • …disco era; (Nile Rodgers and Chic, Village People, Thelma Houston and…
  • Wheatcroft, Geoffrey, "'The Orientalist': The Chic of Araby", New York Times'',…

“sheik”

  • Sheik Yerbouti — a Frank Zappa…
  • …quoted the Islamic Court's spokesman Sheik Ibrahim Mohamed as saying "We…
  • …Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik.
  • …August, insurgents executed a tribal sheik who was encouraging his kinsmen…
  • The song portrays a "sheik of the burning sands" named
  • …the Yuma area, including The Sheik (1921), Beau Geste (1926), Beau…
  • In September 2006, Sheik Abdul Sattar Abu Risha formed…
  • The Sheik (1921)
  • Sheik Adan Ismail, Adan Mohamed Salad…
  • The Son of the Sheik (1926)

“sheikh”

  • …bulletins as 'The Ghost of Sheikh Qassam'.
  • …Abu Ali Jassim, a Sunni sheikh who had encouraged many of…
  • After Sheikh Abdullah’s death, his son Farooq…
  • …international repute also such as Sheikh Dr. Obaidur Rahman, Sheikh Meraj…
  • Sheikh Saif Bin Mohamed Bin Butti…
  • Sheikh Jassem Cup: 4
  • Built in the affluent Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, it served as…
  • …senior Al Qaeda figure Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, which he was believed…
  • Yasmin Sheikh – Co-founder, British Community Honours
  • In 1930 Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam organized and…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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