Caliph - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: Caliph

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·liph

Audio Help [key-lif, kal-if] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a spiritual leader of Islam, claiming succession from Muhammad.

2.	any of the former Muslim rulers of Baghdad (until 1258) and of the Ottoman Empire (from 1571 until 1924).

Also, calif, kalif, kaliph, khalif.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME caliphe, califfe < MF < ML calipha < Ar khalīf(a) successor (of Muhammad), deriv. of khalafa succeed

]

—Related forms

cal·iph·al

Audio Help [kal-uh-fuh

l, key-luh-] Pronunciation Key, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Caliph

To learn more about Caliph visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·liph also ca·lif or kha·lif Audio Help (kā'lĭf, kāl'ĭf) Pronunciation Key
n. A leader of an Islamic polity, regarded as a successor of Muhammad and by tradition always male.

[Middle English calife, from Old French, from Arabic ḫalīfa, successor (to Muhammad), caliph, from ḫalafa, to succeed; see ḫlp in Semitic roots.]

ca'li·phal adj.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
caliph

1393, from Arabic khalifa "successor," originally Abu-Bakr, who succeeded Muhammad in the role of leader of the faithful after the prophet's death. Caliphate "dominion of a caliph" is from 1614.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

caliph
noun
the civil and religious leader of a Muslim state considered to be a representative of Allah on earth; "many radical Muslims believe a Khalifah will unite all Islamic lands and people and subjugate the rest of the world"