califat

Forms

califat m (plural califats)^[1] Also spelled khalifat.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French calife + -at.^[2][1][5][6] The noun is from Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “successor”), properly the successor of Muhammad; the TLFi and the DHLF reject a Spanish intermediary, since Spanish califa is recorded later and probably came from French.^[2][4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1560 in Guillaume Postel's De la république des Turcs, meaning the dignity or office of caliph.^[2][8][9]

Semantic evolution

From the office the word passed to the length of a caliph's reign, recorded by Littré in 1863, and to the territory under a caliph's rule.^[2][4][9] It also names the dynasties and states of Islamic history, such as the caliphates of the East (632–1258) and of Córdoba (929–1031).^[3] By extension it was used of excessive power held by a person or body, as Huysmans did in 1884 of the rule of money.^[2]

Timeline

• 1560 – Guillaume Postel uses it for the dignity of caliph.^[2][8]
• 1863 – Littré records the sense “length of a caliph's reign”.^[2][4]
• 1884 – Huysmans uses it figuratively for excessive power.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The office or dignity of a caliph; the political system headed by a caliph.^[3][2][9]
2. The territory under a caliph's rule, a caliphate.^[3][9][1]
3. The length of the reign of a caliph or a dynasty of caliphs.^[3][9][10]
4. (figurative) Excessive power held by a person or body.^[2]

Related words

• calife
• califal
• Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
7. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette