A·la·wite (ä?l?-w?t?) also A·la·wi (ä?lä-w??)n. pl. A·la·wites also A·la·wis or Alawi A member of a branch of Shiism practiced especially in northwest Syria and adjacent parts of Turkey and Lebanon.[Arabic ‘alaw?, follower of Ali, Alawite (from ‘Al?, Ali ibn Abi Talib + -aw?, variant of -?, adj. suff.) + -ite.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.