Rais

(), plural , is an Arabic title meaning 'chief' or 'leader'. It comes from the word for head, . The corresponding word for leadership or chieftaincy is . It is often translated as 'president' in Arabic, and as 'boss' in Persian. Swahili speakers may also use it for president. The Ottoman Turkish form of the title is reis, which denoted a captain (a term with identical etymology, being from Latin , 'head').The term is of pre-Islamic origin. It may function as an honorific ''laqab'' in a person's name. In the central Arab world, the term originally meant village headman. Provided by Wikipedia