Reply #4: Shi'ite is a bastardization of Shi'a

[jobycom]

Shi'a was always a better word. It's a direct transliteration, whereas "Shi'ite" is an English bastardization of "Shi'a"

From Wikipedia.

"The term Shi'a comes from the Arabic word شيعة Shī`ah. The singular/adjective form of this name is Arabic Shī`ī شيعي.

"Shi'a" is the short form of the historic phrase Shi`at `Ali شيعة علي, meaning "the followers of Ali". Sunni and Shi`ah sources trace the term to the years preceding the death of Muhammad."