caliph
Americannoun
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a spiritual leader of Islam, claiming succession from Muhammad.
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any of the former Muslim rulers of Baghdad (until 1258) and of the Ottoman Empire (from 1571 until 1924).
noun
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.
The Kemalists initially bestowed upon Abdulmejid the largely symbolic title of caliph after they dispossessed his cousin of ruling power in 1922.
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
At the outset the Arabs under the caliph Othman made themselves masters of the island, and destroyed the city of Salamis, which until that time had continued to be the capital.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various
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.
