Standard Lemma guide

mallam

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmæ.ləm/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmɑː-/
  • General-American: /ˈmæ.ləm/
  • General-American: /ˈmɑ-/
  • Africa, West: /ˈma.lam/
  • rhymes with -æləm
  • rhymes with -ɑːləm

1

noun

Meaning 1

In Africa, a teacher of the Qur'an.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: Islam, lifestyle, religion

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Arabic عَلَّمَ (ʕallama) Arabic مُعَلِّم (muʕallim)bor. English mallam Borrowed from Arabic مُعَلِّم (muʕallim, “teacher”). First attested in the 1820s.