Caliphate

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Dr. Goodword
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Caliphate

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun Sep 07, 2014 10:52 pm

• caliphate •

Pronunciation: kæ-lê-fayt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. An Islamic state led by a caliph, a supreme leader. 2. The region politically ruled by a caliph. 3. (Usually capitalized) The era of Islam from the death of Mohammed until the 13th century.

Notes: Caliphate in English is based on the noun caliph. Do not forget that although the Latin C is used to reflect the sound [k] (not Greek K), the Greek digraph PH is used to convey the sound [f], as it is in elephant.

In Play: Some Muslims maintain that their goal is to reestablish the Caliphate in the third sense above; ISIS claims to have already done that. There have been other caliphates declared, the last being the Ottoman caliphate (1517-1924). The problem comes from the fact that the caliphate is primarily a Sunni Muslim construct not shared in its entirety by Shias. The Sunni outnumber the Shia by a margin of 85% to 15%.

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from the title khalifat Allah "of the follower of God" or khalifat rasul Allah "of the Messenger of God". Caliph entered Middle English from Old French caliphe. It comes from Arabic khalifa "successor (to Muhammad)", a noun from the verb khalafa "to succeed, follow". (At this point we must thank Albert Skiles, our most prolific contributor of suggestions, for recommending today's Good Word.)
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LukeJavan8
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Re: caliphate

Postby LukeJavan8 » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:53 pm

Seventh century dreams using twenty-first century social
media.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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David McWethy
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Re: caliphate

Postby David McWethy » Fri Sep 12, 2014 10:55 am

My friendly rival, Albert Skiles, and I feel it should be pointed out that of all the 50,000 Good Word subscribers, (some living in territories where English is not the predominately-spoken language in a hundred miles in any direction) we two—who live within 40 or so miles or so of each other in Northwest Arkansas,—had our suggested Good Words used almost back-to-back.

His was "caliphate", used this past Sunday; while mine. “julep” was chosen for Tuesday.

Is is not self-evident that this is an instance of "res ipso loquitor“ (the thing speaks for itself); an example of either the cream of the crop rising to the top; or Dr. Good Word being reduced to scraping the bottom of the suggestion-barrel?

I look forward to the reactions of my many betters.
"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things...."

Perry Lassiter
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Re: caliphate

Postby Perry Lassiter » Fri Sep 12, 2014 1:25 pm

Excuse me for a bit. I'm going out to buy a ten foot pole not to touch that remark with. (Or with which not to touch that remark.)
pl

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Slava
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Re: caliphate

Postby Slava » Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:04 pm

Then again, of the 50k or so subscribers, a mere dozen, if that, are active and suggest words. The pool is rather small, so those who get fished out are most likely merely the largest and most likely to get caught. For good or bad. :)
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Word selection

Postby Dr. Goodword » Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:02 pm

Right now I have about 400 words on my list and we receive 4-5 per day. Some people send lists of words. I try to (1) select the most interesting words as described here and (2) spread the words as evenly as possible over all contributors. I also (3) give preference to those who are submitting for the first time in order to encourage them.

Remember I'm not looking for the most arcane words, but the most interesting in my opinion.
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David McWethy
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nano

Postby David McWethy » Tue Sep 16, 2014 2:55 pm

I confess that whether "nano" is selected from among the 400 or so current entrants nominated to be Good Words of the Day is secondary to my reason for suggesting it.

Once I read this passage from "The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us" ((c)Diane Ackerman; W.W. Norton & Company), concerning the incredible developments unfolding at nanoscale, I was hooked, and wanted to bring this book to the attention of other verbivores who frequently read interesting-sounding nominees:
"We're not just seeing invisibles; we're engineering things on a minute, invisible-to-the-eye scale. 'Nano,'...applies to things one-billionth of a meter long. In nature that's the size of sea spray and smoke. A strand of hair is 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide, roomy enough to hold 100,000 perfectly machined carbon nanotubes [!!!] (which are 50 to 100 times stronger than steel at one-sixth the weight)....About 500,000 nanometers would fit in the period at the end of this sentence, with room left over for a rave of microbes and a dictator's heart.
If the thought of 100,000 perfectly machined carbon nanotubes doesn’t make your eyes water, try reading that passage again!

I hope this method of spreading good words (lower case) isn't considered an inappropriate use of the site, as one of the enunciated purposes of it is to “…tell a story about us and where we come from, how we really think, what we are currently up to”.
"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things...."

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Re: Caliphate

Postby Dr. Goodword » Tue Sep 16, 2014 10:41 pm

This isn't the forum to suggest words. Use "Good Word Suggestions" for that.
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