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caliph

American  
[key-lif, kal-if] / ˈkeɪ lɪf, ˈkæl ɪf /
Also kalif, or calif

noun

  1. a spiritual leader of Islam, claiming succession from Muhammad.

  2. any of the former Muslim rulers of Baghdad (until 1258) and of the Ottoman Empire (from 1571 until 1924).

caliph British  
/ ˈkæl-, ˈkeɪlɪf /

noun

  1. Islam the title of the successors of Mohammed as rulers of the Islamic world, later assumed by the Sultans of Turkey

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • caliphal adjective

Etymology

Origin of caliph

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English caliphe, califfe, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin calipha, from Arabic khalīf(a) “successor (of Muhammad),” derivative of khalafa “succeed”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Or one could argue the opposite: The presence of a unifying caliph might have, as it had for centuries, moderated the expansion of marginal extremist movements such as Wahhabism or, in our time, Islamic State.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

It started out as a rebranded faction of Al Qaeda, under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi militant cleric and insurgent leader turned self-styled caliph.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2025

It is named after Omar, Islam's second caliph.

From BBC • Dec. 8, 2023

Over the weekend, Serigne Mountakha Mbacke, caliph of the Mouride brotherhood, Senegal’s most influential religious order, called on people in the city of Touba, the brotherhood’s headquarters, to stop demonstrating and return home.

From Washington Times • Jun. 5, 2023

The caliph answered, "I am a stranger; I know no one in this city, and I shall be obliged if you will conduct me to this lord's house."

From The Thousand and One Days A Companion to the 'Arabian Nights' by Pardoe, Julia

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.