califa

Forms

califa m (plural califas)^[1] The chronicle of 1344 writes califa and califfa; the 14th century also has halifa and falifa, and the 15th califf.^[2][3][4] Vieira notes that João de Barros wrote calipha.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic خليفة (ḵalīfa, “successor, deputy”).^[2][3][6][7] Houaiss explains the Arabic word as “vicar, lieutenant of God on earth”, the title of the successors of Muhammad as heads of the Muslim community.^[2] Corriente thinks that this form probably came through other western European languages at the time of the Crusades, while forms taken directly from Arabic, such as Old Galician-Portuguese halifa and Old Spanish alcalifa, did not last;^[8][9] Wikcionário derives it through an Andalusian form خليفة (ẖalífah).^[8][9]

The same word is Spanish califa, Galician califa and Catalan califa.^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before the Portuguese word, halifa appears as a byname in Latin charters: 1087 Petrus cognomento halifa “Pedro, surnamed halifa”, and 1093 ego halifa.^[4] The first Portuguese record is in the chronicle of 1344, which speaks of a man que foy califa de baldac “who was caliph of Baghdad”.^[4][2] A Galician chronicle writes halifa and falifa and explains that the caliph est en lugar de papa “is in the place of a pope”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its meaning, the supreme ruler of Islam with both temporal and spiritual power;^[10][2] Morais (1789) defines it as the highest dignity among the Muslims, with sovereignty and a kind of pontificate.^[10][2] By extension it means any chief.^[11][9] The Academia's dictionary records two later senses: the representative of the sultan in the large cities of Morocco, and in India a man who practises a manual trade, such as a tailor, barber or cook.^[12]

Timeline

• 1087 – halifa as a byname in a Latin charter.^[4]
• 1344 – califa and califfa in the chronicle of 1344.^[2][4]
• 14th century – halifa and falifa.^[3]
• 15th century – califf.^[2]
• 1789 – Morais enters califa as the supreme dignity of the Muslims.^[10]
• 1871 – Vieira gives the Arabic etymon, “successor of Muhammad”.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. caliph, a successor of Maomé as the temporal and spiritual leader of the Muslim community.^[2][13][1]
2. (by extension) A chief (chefe).^[11][9]
3. The representative of the sultan in an important Moroccan city.^[12]
4. (India) A man who practises a manual trade, such as a tailor, barber or cook.^[12]

Word family

• califado

Related words

• Spanish califa

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. califa
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. califa
4. ^ a b c d e f Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. califa
5. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 2, 49
6. ^ a b Corriente, Federico; Pereira, Christophe; Vicente, Ángeles (2019), Dictionnaire des emprunts ibéro-romans: emprunts à l'arabe et aux langues du monde islamique (Encyclopédie linguistique d'Al-Andalus 3), Berlin: De Gruyter, p. s.v. califa
7. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. s.v. califa
8. ^ a b c Corriente, Federico (1999), Diccionario de arabismos y voces afines en iberorromance, Madrid: Gredos, p. 271
9. ^ a b c d Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org
10. ^ a b c Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 217
11. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1682
12. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. califa
13. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. califa