Revision History

loadingDate    Editor    Name ID    Change Summary
1/21/2022, 9:40 PM Mike C calafia added (from user-submitted name 119284)
3/21/2012, 3:59 PM SeaHorse15 119284
12/29/2011, 2:25 AM SeaHorse15

Gender Feminine

Meaning & History

Probably invented by the 16th-century Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, who likely based it on califa, the Spanish form of Arabic خليفة (khalifah), an Islamic title meaning "successor" (see Khalifa). In Montalvo's novel The Adventures of Esplandián it is borne by the queen of the island of California (the inspiration for the name of the American and Mexican states).