Brewer's: Caliph

or Calif. A title given to the successors of Mahomet. Among the Saracens a caliph is one vested with supreme dignity. The caliphat of Bagdad reached its highest splendour under Haroun al Raschid, in the ninth century. For the last 200 years the appellation has been swallowed up in the titles of Shah, Sultan, Emir, and so on. (Arabic, Khalifah, a successor; khalafa, to succeed.)

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language