Where does “caliph” come from?

Caliph comes from Middle English calife, from Old French caliphe, from Medieval Latin calipha, from Arabic خَلِيفَة.

caliph (English): The political leader of the Muslim world,...

Definitions

  1. The political leader of the Muslim world,...

Ancestry of “caliph”, step by step

caliph traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English calife

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcalife—
2Old Frenchcaliphe—
3Medieval Latincaliphacaliph
4Arabicخَلِيفَةvicar, successor; caliph

via Middle English caliphe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcaliphe—

Words derived from “caliph”

Every word from Arabic خَلِيفَة →Every word from Medieval Latin calipha →Every word from Old French caliphe →