χαλίφης

Greek

Borrowed.

Either a learned borrowing from Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “caliph”) (according to Andriotis^[1]).
Or from Ottoman Turkish خلیفه (halife), from Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “caliph”) (according to Babiniotis^[2]). From the Arabic, also derived the Mediaeval Greek χαλιφᾶς (khaliphâs, “Muhammad's successor”) of the 11th century, with a later sense "Muslim political and religious leader".
Or a learned borrowing from Italian califfo or French calife (according to Petrounias^[3]), stem [kalif-] + ending -ης, from Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “caliph”) with [k > x] under the influence of the Mediaeval χαλιφᾶς (khaliphâs).

χαλίφης • (chalífis) m (plural χαλίφηδες or χαλίφες)

Plural -ηδες, according to similar nouns borrowed from Turkish in the pattern of μανάβης (manávis), μπακάλης (bakális).

^ χαλίφης - Andriotis (Ανδριώτης), Nikolaos Pantelis (1983) Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Etymological Dictionary of Koine Neo-Hellenic] (in Greek, polytonic) 3rd ed. (1st ed. 1951), Thessaloniki: Aristotelian University, the "Triantafyllidis" Foundation.
^ χαλίφης - Babiniotis, Georgios (2010) Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας Etymologikó lexikó tis néas ellinikís glóssas [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek language] (in Greek), Athens: Lexicology Centre
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 χαλίφης, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language
^ χαλίφης - Babiniotis, Georgios (2002) Λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας: […] [Dictionary of Modern Greek (language)] (in Greek), 2nd edition, Athens: Kentro Lexikologias [Lexicology Centre], 1st edition 1998, →ISBN.