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A caliph is a Muslim ruler, especially in the past: the person at the head of a Muslim community or state. The Arabic word behind it means “successor,” and the first caliphs were seen as successors of the Prophet Muhammad, leading people in faith and in government at the same time.
A caliph is a Muslim ruler, especially in the pastcaliph指的是穆斯林的統治者，特別是指過去 the person at the head of a Muslim community or state是帶領整個穆斯林社群或國家的那個人 The Arabic word behind it means 'successor'它背後的阿拉伯文原意是'繼承人' and the first caliphs were seen as successors of the Prophet Muhammad最早的caliph被視為先知穆罕默德的繼承人 leading people in faith and in government at the same time同時在信仰和政治上帶領人民
Though actually, a caliph is not simply another word for king. In the early centuries the title pointed to one leader for Muslims as a whole, not just the boss of one neat country; later, different families in different places used it, and it often sat closer to an emperor’s title.
Though actually不過事實上 a caliph is not simply another word for kingcaliph並不只是king（國王）的另一種說法 In the early centuries在早期的幾個世紀裡 the title pointed to one leader for Muslims as a whole這個頭銜指的是整個穆斯林世界的單一領袖 not just the boss of one neat country不只是某一個國家的領導人 later後來 different families in different places used it不同地方的不同家族都用過這個頭銜 and it often sat closer to an emperor's title而且它的意涵常常更接近皇帝的頭銜
You meet it in history (Baghdad, Damascus, the Ottomans), and sometimes in the news when a group claims the old title. In ordinary today almost nobody is called a caliph; when the word appears, it is usually about the past, or about someone reaching for that past.
You meet it in history (Baghdad, Damascus, the Ottomans)你會在歷史裡遇到它（像巴格達、大馬士革、鄂圖曼帝國） and sometimes in the news when a group claims the old title有時候也會在新聞裡看到，當某個團體宣稱擁有這個古老頭銜的時候 In ordinary politics today今天在一般政治上 almost nobody is called a caliph幾乎沒有人被稱為caliph when the word appears, it is usually about the past, or about someone reaching for that past當這個字出現時，通常是在講過去，或是有人想拿回過去那套
It is a formal, historical word — not a word for a mayor, a president, or a school principal.
It is a formal, historical word這是一個正式的歷史用字 not a word for a mayor, a president, or a school principal不是用來稱呼市長、總統或校長的字
組成From Arabic khalīfa, “successor,” into English through Medieval Latin calipha and Old French caliphe (Middle English calife / caliphe).
同家族的字
- caliphatethe land a caliph rules, or the period of that rule; built from caliph
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
caliphnoun/ˈkeɪlɪf/
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The holder of a monarchical title based on a claim to be a successor of Muhammad.
- The Abbasid caliphs patronized art and science beside religious developments ushering in the Islamic Golden Age when their capital Baghdad began to flourish as a center of knowledge, culture and trade.
- It carries us to the East, and the stately halls of the caliphs rise on the mind's eye; and we think over the thousand and one stories which made our childhood so happy, and stored up a world of unconscious poetry for our future years:...
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。