Dictionary

caliph en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈkælɪf/
• /ˈkeɪlɪf/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English calife, caliphe, from Old French caliphe, from Medieval Latin calipha, from Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “caliph”) and خَلِيف (ḵalīf, “successor”).

Meanings

1. The holder of a monarchical title based on a claim to be a successor of Muhammad.
   • It carries us to the East, and the stately halls of the caliphs rise on the mind's eye; and we think over the thousand and one stories which made our childhood so happy, and stored up a world of unconscious poetry for our future years:... 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Coronation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 148-149:
   • The Abbasid caliphs patronized art and science beside religious developments ushering in the Islamic Golden Age when their capital Baghdad began to flourish as a center of knowledge, culture and trade.

Forms

Deriveds

caliphate · Calipha · caliphal · caliphship · caliphdom · Caliphist · caliphhood · Caliphess · caliphian · anticaliph · Caliphism · Klaliff · caliphess

Hypernyms

cleric

Translations (94)

ur خَلِیفَہ (political leader of the Muslim world) · ar خَلِيفَة (political leader of the Muslim world) · ia califa (political leader of the Muslim world) · nn kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · lv kalifs (political leader of the Muslim world) · th กาหลิบ (political leader of the Muslim world) · mk калиф (political leader of the Muslim world) · el χαλίφης (political leader of the Muslim world) · nb kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · tt хәлифә (political leader of the Muslim world) · th คอลีฟะห์ (political leader of the Muslim world) · prs خَلِیفَه (political leader of the Muslim world) · ru кали́ф (political leader of the Muslim world) · ckb خەلیفە (political leader of the Muslim world) · tk halypa (political leader of the Muslim world) · es califa (political leader of the Muslim world) · ky халиф (political leader of the Muslim world) · crh halife (political leader of the Muslim world) · fo kaliffur (political leader of the Muslim world) · he ח׳ליפה (political leader of the Muslim world) · fi kalifi (political leader of the Muslim world) · sq kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · it califfo (political leader of the Muslim world) · tk halif (political leader of the Muslim world) · he כָּלִיף (political leader of the Muslim world) · tl halipa (political leader of the Muslim world) · sw khalifa (political leader of the Muslim world) · ga cailif (political leader of the Muslim world) · pa خَلِیفَہ (political leader of the Muslim world) · de Chalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · sl kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · hi ख़लीफ़ा (political leader of the Muslim world) · io kalifo (political leader of the Muslim world) · ps خليفه (political leader of the Muslim world) · hu kalifa (political leader of the Muslim world) · bg хали́ф (political leader of the Muslim world) · et kaliif (political leader of the Muslim world) · arz خليفة (political leader of the Muslim world) · tg халифа (political leader of the Muslim world) · eo kalifo (political leader of the Muslim world) · fa-cls خَلِیفَه (political leader of the Muslim world) · ja ハリーファ (political leader of the Muslim world) · gu ખલીફા (political leader of the Muslim world) · uk халі́ф (political leader of the Muslim world) · am ኸሊፍ (political leader of the Muslim world) · az xəlifə (political leader of the Muslim world) · hi खलीफा (political leader of the Muslim world) · ky калиф (political leader of the Muslim world) · gu ખલીફ (political leader of the Muslim world) · bn খলিফা (political leader of the Muslim world) · ro calif (political leader of the Muslim world) · nl kalief (political leader of the Muslim world) · sh ка̀лӣф (political leader of the Muslim world) · sh hàlīf (political leader of the Muslim world) · pl kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · fr calife (political leader of the Muslim world) · mrw halipa (political leader of the Muslim world) · cs chalífa (political leader of the Muslim world) · ka ხალიფა (political leader of the Muslim world) · ja カリフ (political leader of the Muslim world) · ky калыйпа (political leader of the Muslim world) · kmr xelîfe (political leader of the Muslim world) · hy խալիֆ (political leader of the Muslim world) · sh kàlīf (political leader of the Muslim world) · hy ամիրապետ (political leader of the Muslim world) · tr halife (political leader of the Muslim world) · id khalifah (political leader of the Muslim world) · ba хәлифә (political leader of the Muslim world) · sk kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · uz xalifa (political leader of the Muslim world) · cmn 哈里發 /哈里发 (political leader of the Muslim world) · ms khalifah (political leader of the Muslim world) · ru хали́ф (political leader of the Muslim world) · pt califa (political leader of the Muslim world) · ca califa (political leader of the Muslim world) · ota خلیفه (political leader of the Muslim world) · sh ха̀лӣф (political leader of the Muslim world) · he חָלִיף (political leader of the Muslim world) · da kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · vi kha-lip (political leader of the Muslim world) · fa-ira خَلیفِه (political leader of the Muslim world) · be халі́ф (political leader of the Muslim world) · eo ĥalifo (political leader of the Muslim world) · grc χαλιφᾶς (political leader of the Muslim world) · pa ਖਲੀਫ਼ਾ (political leader of the Muslim world) · cs kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · sv kalif (political leader of the Muslim world) · ug خەلىپە (political leader of the Muslim world) · de Kalifin (cf. Päpstin) (political leader of the Muslim world) · mk халиф (political leader of the Muslim world) · kk халиф (political leader of the Muslim world) · ko 칼리파 (political leader of the Muslim world) · lt kalifas (political leader of the Muslim world) · de Kalif (political leader of the Muslim world)