English Reference

Word

muslim

Phoneticsmus·lim

/ˈməzɫəm/

Definitions

01a follower of Islam

A2 · Religion

n. a person who follows the religion of Islam.

n. an adherent of the monotheistic religion of Islam.

“Many Muslims visit the city of Mecca at least once in their lives.”

“The local community centre provides a space where Muslims can gather for prayer and social events throughout the year.”

Usage

Always written with a capital letter.

02relating to Islam

A2 · Religion

adj. relating to the religion of Islam or the people who follow it.

adj. pertaining to the faith, practice, or culture of Islam.

“The city is famous for its beautiful Muslim architecture and history.”

“The scholar published a detailed study on Muslim contributions to medieval mathematics and astronomy.”

Usage

Always written with a capital letter.

Teaching tip

While 'Muslim' and 'Islamic' are often used interchangeably as adjectives, 'Muslim' usually refers to people or their personal culture, while 'Islamic' often refers to the religion, laws, or art style.

Synonyms

Etymology

Borrowed around 1615 from Arabic مُسْلِم (muslim, “one who submits”), the active participle of أَسْلَمَ (ʔaslama, “he submitted”), verb form IV from the triliteral root س ل م (s l m), "to be whole, intact". The verbal noun إسْلام (ʔislām) means literally "submission". In a religious sense, الْإِسْلَام (al-ʔislām) translates to "faith, piety", and مُسْلِم (muslim) to "one who has (religious) faith or piety".

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Domain

Religion

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Common
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/muslim

English Reference