Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A leader of an Islamic polity, regarded as a successor of Muhammad and by tradition always male.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. See calif, califate.
Wiktionary
- n. The political leader of the Muslim world, successor of Muhammad's political authority, not religious or spiritual.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Successor or vicar; the civil and religious leader of a Muslim state; -- a title of the successors of Mohammed both as temporal and spiritual rulers, used formerly by the sultans of Turkey.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the civil and religious leader of a Muslim state considered to be a representative of Allah on earth
Etymologies
- From Arabic خليفة (khalīfä). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English calife, from Old French, from Arabic ḫalīfa, successor (to Muhammad), caliph, from ḫalafa, to succeed; see ḫlp in Semitic roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The Ottoman sultans then claimed the title of caliph and brandished it for four centuries until Kamal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, abolished it in 1924.”
“The Ottoman sultan seized the title of caliph from the Arabs and moved the capital of the Islamic empire to Istanbul formerly Constantinople.”
“The caliph was the “commander of the faithful,” the political and military leader of the worldwide community of Muslims, and the city where he lived was the caliphate—the capital of the Muslim world.”
“In these times, to be called a caliph you must have money.”
“He was called the caliph, a word which means SUCCESSOR; and this title has been borne ever since by the religious chief of the Mohammedans.”
“Effendi, do you think that a man can conquer Syria, who is not called a caliph?”
“Founded by Michael E. Porter, an economics professor at Harvard Business School whom the Financial Times once dubbed the "caliph of competitiveness," Monitor set up shop in Tripoli.”
“Scheich Ibrahim sung, and the caliph was the more surprised, because till that moment he never knew of his drinking wine, but always took him for a grave, solid man, as he seemed to be to outward appearance.”
“Their moral and political writings might have gradually unlocked the fetters of Eastern despotism, diffused a liberal spirit of inquiry and toleration, and encouraged the Arabian sages to suspect that their caliph was a tyrant, and their prophet an impostor.”
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5
“I swear that I stealthily crept to the computer and looked up the site of this (Shiite) Imam, this so called caliph in his land.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘caliph’.
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POL - people in power
daredevil, tzar, king, boss, master, commander, chief, kingpin, top banana, bigwig, big cheese, big wheel and 452 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Arabian Nights
scheherazade, sinbad, bazaar, magic carpet, bedouin, leviathan, aladdin, ali baba, open sesame, 40 thieves, baghdad, ceylon and 32 more...
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kad's Words
caliph, sylvain, slither, rebbe, sverdrup, vapid, onus, atavistic, cathexis, acathexis, kludge, lithe and 97 more...
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Junk
walrus, fascination, broadway, fickle, downturn, bridge, gargle, rotunda, mesh, fab, shortlife, strumming and 304 more...
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theastic's Words
cellar, stalemate, wrought, opal, tyrant, squelch, squab, linen, tartan, paisley, scope, siren and 395 more...
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Who Are You?
No one ever says, "I want to be a somnambulist when I grow up." But don't let that get in the way of organizing your Wordie lists.
chevalier, somnambulist, sommelier, troubadour, vicar, majordomo, caliph, polyglot, polymath, apprentice, nuyorican, privateer and 107 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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Take Me To Your Whosit
About leaders, particularly the authority-figure at the top of the tree.
leader, chief, boss, cap'n, executive, president, head, tsar, alpha male, alpha female, conductor, dean and 127 more...
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akmed13's Words
time, spaceship, quantum mechanics, time traveller, bezonkers, strakh, path integrals, gorbfest, amphigory, amber, bicycle, amphisbaena and 358 more...
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The Golem's Eye
Words and phrases from Jonathan Stroud's book, The Golem's Eye.
ordure, widdershins, cop, stipple, ostler, struts, minaret, chemise, remonstrate, concussion, wicket, vamoose and 249 more...
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some of my favorites
some of my favorite words
tintinnabulation, lascivious, ontology, chthonic, eldritch, squamous, verity, specificity, euphony, cacophony, therianthrope, morbidity and 157 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, C
cryptoxanthin, convent, calcar, chuckle, campanile, covet, complexion, campestral, chirography, counterscarp, caliginous, catabolism and 722 more...
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fitting words
a list of words from the indo european root ar- and variations : to fit together
ambry, rede, coarctate, anarthrous, artiodactyl, exordium, harmony, army, armoire, arm, armada, armadillo and 349 more...
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nfk9595's Words
magnetohydrodynamics, bovine, epistle, gargantuan, kerfuffle, verbiage, morose, coup de main, elan, achtung, uber, verboten and 497 more...
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nicola's Words
sui generis, amanuensis, caliph, hedonism, myrmidon, propensity, peripatetic, schadenfreude, panoply, attenuation, elixir, recalcitrance and 5 more...
Tweets
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