Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - shia

 noun  Etymology: Arabic shi‘a followers, faction, sect  Date: 1626  1. the Muslims of the branch of Islam comprising sects believing in Ali and the Imams as the only rightful successors of Muhammad and in the concealment and messianic return of the last recognized Imam — compare Sunni  2. Shiite  3. the branch of Islam formed by the ~