caliph

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English caliphe, also califfe,^[2][3][4] partly borrowed from Middle French caliphe, also calife,^[5][6][3] and partly borrowed from Medieval Latin calipha.^[5][7][6] In Old French the word is recorded as califfe from the early 13th century (1219–21 in Anglo-Norman),^[5][8] and Etymonline dates Old French caliphe to the 12th century, with a variant algalife.^[9] The Medieval Latin form appears from the 11th century and often in British sources from the 12th.^[5] Both go back to Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “successor”),^{[5][1][10][9]} the title taken by Abu Bakr after the death of Muhammad,^[5][9] from an Arabic verb meaning to succeed, follow or come after.^[5][3][6] The Oxford Dictionary of English explains the title either as "deputy of God" or as "successor of the Messenger of God".^[11][12] Klein relates the Arabic verb to Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac verbs meaning to pass on or to change, and to a Ge'ez verb meaning to pass by.^[2] The OED compares Old Occitan califa (about 1220), Spanish califa (1295, from French), Portuguese califa (1344) and Italian califfo (1264).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The title of the chief ruler of the Muslim community, as successor of Muhammad: before 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis.^[5][7] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century, as the ruler of a Muslim country.^[9]

Semantic evolution

For most of its history the word named the chief civil and religious ruler of Sunni Islam, and it is now mainly historical.^[5] Johnson (1755) described it as a title taken by the successors of Muhammad among the Saracens, who held absolute power in religious and civil matters.^[13] Collins notes that the title was later assumed by the Sultans of Turkey,^[10] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged that it has been used chiefly in historical reference since Turkey abolished the caliphate on 23 March 1924; it also records the word for a Muslim political leader who claims rightful succession to the caliphate.^[3] From 1885 it was also used for the spiritual leader of various Islamic communities, regarded as the successor of the community's founder.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1393 – the chief ruler of the Muslim community, as successor of Muhammad.^[5][7]
• 1885 – the spiritual leader of an Islamic community, as successor of its founder.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (chiefly historical) The title of the successors of Muhammad as civil and religious heads of the Islamic world; a ruler bearing that title.^[3][10][5]
2. A Muslim political leader who claims rightful succession to the caliphate.^[3]
3. The spiritual leader of one of various Islamic communities, regarded as the successor of its founder.^[5]

Word family

• caliphal
• caliphate

Related words

• khalifa

Usage notes

The word is also spelled calif, kalif and khalif.^[10][14] In Middle English its first vowel was lengthened, which after the Great Vowel Shift gave the pronunciation /ˈkeɪlɪf/;^[5] Sheridan (1780), Walker (1791) and Smart (1836) record only that pronunciation.^[5] Johnson glossed its Arabic source as an heir or successor.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Stratmann, Francis Henry (1891), A Middle-English Dictionary, revised by Henry Bradley, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2008), 11th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap