Definition
What does melek mean?
melek means “angel.” An angel or divine messenger. The word appears in the names and descriptions of Yazidi sacred beings.
This entry belongs to belief and cosmology. Religious terms can carry layers of meaning that change with a qewl, lineage, speaker, or region; the English line is a concise orientation, not a replacement for community explanation.
Pronunciation & orthography
Four ways to read the headword
Only the Latin form is stored as the canonical headword. The IPA and two script forms are generated from it and may not capture regional pronunciation, loanword conventions, or an attested community spelling.
Alternate forms
Other spellings and search forms
Aliases are included for discovery across common English, Kurdish, and scholarly spelling systems. Their presence does not imply that every form is preferred in every community.
Source note
References for this entry
This definition is an editorial synthesis of the references below. It does not reproduce restricted or copyrighted sacred text, and it should be expanded only after term-level specialist review.
The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written
Harrassowitz, 2017. Anchor reference for religious terminology, textual genres, transmission, and lineages; includes a specialist glossary.
Yezidism: Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition
Edwin Mellen Press, 1995. Foundational account of holy beings, social organization, observances, and the qewl corpus.
The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion
Bloomsbury, 2014. Reference for belief, hierarchy, festivals, material culture, sacred sites, and architecture.