Meaning & use
qaid
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A Muslim political or military leader, especially a local chief or official in North Africa.
Grammar: Countable: a qaid, the qaid, qaids.
Patterns
- a local qaid
- the qaid of a region
The qaid governed the district on behalf of the central authorities.
Historians studied the role of the qaid in rural North Africa.
The qaid commanded a small militia.
Word forms
| plural | qaids |
|---|
Common combinations
- local qaid
- The local qaid mediated the dispute between villages.
- tribal qaid
- A tribal qaid often held both political and military power.
- the qaid's authority
- The qaid's authority was recognized by the colonial administration.
Synonyms and how they differ
- caid
- Caid is an alternative spelling of the same word, common in older English texts.
- chieftain
- Chieftain is a more general term for a leader of a tribe or clan, not specific to North Africa.
- governor
- Governor is a broader term for an official who governs a region, not necessarily Muslim or North African.
Commonly confused: qaid or qat?
qaid vs qat
Qat is a plant chewed as a stimulant in some regions; qaid is a leader or official.
Practice
In historical texts about North Africa, a ____ was a local leader or official.
Choose one answer.
'Qaid' fits the definition of a local leader. 'Qat' is a plant, 'quid' is a wad of tobacco or a British pound, and 'quad' is a square or a quadruplet.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “qaid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.