Muhammad Ali 1769-1849. Turkish soldier and viceroy of Egypt (1805-1848) who wrested control of Egypt from the weakening Ottoman Empire (1811) and established a modern state, over which his family ruled until 1952.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.Muhammad Ali (???l?; ???li?; ?æl?) , Muhammed Ali or Mohammed Alin (Biography) original name Cassius (Marcellus) Clay. born 1942, US boxer, who was world heavyweight champion three times (1964?67; 1974?78; 1978)Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014