Imamite: Meaning and Definition of

I•mam•ite

Pronunciation: (i-mä'mīt), [key]
— n. Islam.
  1. a member of the principal sect of Shi&ain;ah, believing in a succession of twelve divinely inspired imams, beginning with Ali and ending with Muhammad al-Muntazar (d. a.d. c880), who supposedly retired to a cave, later to return as the Mahdi.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.