Etymology
The word Imam denotes the one who stands or walks in front. He is the guide. For the Sunni Muslims the word is commonly used to mean the person who 'leads' the course of prayer in the Mosque. It also means the head of a school of thought (i.e. an Islamic sect). However, from the Shia point of view this is merely the basic understanding of the word in the Arabic language and for its proper religious usage the word 'Imam' is applicable only to those members of the House of the Prophet (ahl al-bayt) designated as the infallible by the preceding Imam.
Read more about this topic: Shi'a Imams
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)