caliph
noun
ca·liph ˈkā-ləf 
ˈka-ləf
variants or less commonly calif
: a successor of Muhammad as temporal (see temporal entry 1 sense 1c) and spiritual head of Islam —used as a title
caliphal
ˈkā-lə-fəl
adjective ˈka-
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The country’s ruler, the Albanian commander Muhammad Ali, ended Mamluk rule, secured near independence from the Ottoman caliph, and embarked on modernizing the country in an attempt to catch up with the West. 
Ursula Lindsey, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2021 Fate follows a beggar king, his daughter, a dancer, and the caliph and grand vizier of Baghdad. Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2021 Already in 2012, people were living as if Baghdadi was the caliph. Karl Vick, Time, 25 Feb. 2021 Hussain had been invited by the inhabitants of Kufa, which was a garrison town near Najaf, to come and lead them in a revolt against the Umayyad caliph in Damascus. Edith Szanto, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2020 Hussain had been invited by the inhabitants of Kufa, which was a garrison town near Najaf, to come and lead them in a revolt against the Umayyad caliph in Damascus. Edith Szanto, chicagotribune.com, 9 Sep. 2020 For example, Mutawakkil, a caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled over a vast Islamic empire from the eighth to the 13th century, feared that the rituals inflamed anti-regime fervor. Edith Szanto, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2020 For example, Mutawakkil, a caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled over a vast Islamic empire from the eighth to the 13th century, feared that the rituals inflamed anti-regime fervor. Edith Szanto, chicagotribune.com, 9 Sep. 2020 The meaning of the new nom de guerre was not lost on his future followers: Abu Bakr was the first caliph after the Prophet Muhammad’s death in ancient Arabia and is credited with the wave of Islamic expansion that followed. Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2019 See More
Ursula Lindsey, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2021 Fate follows a beggar king, his daughter, a dancer, and the caliph and grand vizier of Baghdad. Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2021 Already in 2012, people were living as if Baghdadi was the caliph. Karl Vick, Time, 25 Feb. 2021 Hussain had been invited by the inhabitants of Kufa, which was a garrison town near Najaf, to come and lead them in a revolt against the Umayyad caliph in Damascus. Edith Szanto, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2020 Hussain had been invited by the inhabitants of Kufa, which was a garrison town near Najaf, to come and lead them in a revolt against the Umayyad caliph in Damascus. Edith Szanto, chicagotribune.com, 9 Sep. 2020 For example, Mutawakkil, a caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled over a vast Islamic empire from the eighth to the 13th century, feared that the rituals inflamed anti-regime fervor. Edith Szanto, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2020 For example, Mutawakkil, a caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled over a vast Islamic empire from the eighth to the 13th century, feared that the rituals inflamed anti-regime fervor. Edith Szanto, chicagotribune.com, 9 Sep. 2020 The meaning of the new nom de guerre was not lost on his future followers: Abu Bakr was the first caliph after the Prophet Muhammad’s death in ancient Arabia and is credited with the wave of Islamic expansion that followed. Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English caliphe, from Middle French calife, from Arabic khalīfa successor
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
caliph
noun
ca·liph
variants or calif
ˈkā-ləf
: an important Muslim political and religious leader