The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-07-11
MEANING OF "cALIFoRNIA. F."
Comes from the Old Arabic Word,
"Kalif,"

Inc BO0klOFer.
The true meaning of the word Kalifornia.'
or California. has never yet, to the writer S
knowledge. been made public in America. The
tells an old yarn about the word occurring in
a Spanish book of romance of the sixteenth
century. published 1870 in allusion to a fabled
leland Of wealth. OF course, few in America
have ever seen this romance Las Sergus de
Esplandian,' as an original exists not in
bined with smattering of Arabic, enables me
to make perfectly clear the real meaning of
the word California.
We have all heard of the Arabic word kaiif
toften incorrectly spelled calf" and two or
three other ways as 'caliph." 'khalif." ''ka-
liph," all of which are wrongl. Kalif means
successor. or chief. Kalifat means the dis
trict province of the chief. corresponding
ION usually smaller scale) to our American
State" Now, the Iberians have a useful
brief way, brought down through ages. of max
ing a word stand for two other meanings by
the simple addition of tia or "on. p" Thus
Seniors. woman; senorita, little woman "a
missl; senorona. grand dame (but rarely
used. because rejecting on woman as put
ting airs''). Or: Cuchara. spoon; cuchar
lis, little spoon; cucharon, big spoon. So:
Kalifat the province or district or State. be-
comes by kaliito the little kalifat; ka1ifon.
the grand kalifat In this form, kalifon would
also refer to the kalif himself, as meaning a
powerful kaiif.
In the old Arabic Iberian language, a kali
fon meant something grand vast, in aliu-
sion to the kaifat of chief which i'm
nensely bigger in extent and wealth and pro-
auctions than ordinary kalifat-a 'sone-
thing always aspired after Travel into any
part of Mexico, and you viii hear rancho.
ranch; ranchito little ranch, and Occasion
ally ranchon, big ranch, So a kalifon was
always sort of grand prize a vast treas
ure, the Arabic-Iberlan colorado. The termi-
nation ia" making the word Halifonia,
could very naturally be affixed. in romance,
to the name of tabled island of wealth. We
have recent Illustration of the suffix ia,
in South Africa, where Rhodes had district
named after him. "Rhodesia." And right at
home we have Eden prolonged to- Edeenia
Arcade to Arcadia. and Emersonia referring
a al things relating TO Emerson,
etc.
In referring to kalifs here, am only writ
ing of the kalifs OF old Mohammedan Iberia.
The word had not the significance which 1t has
at STEAMBOAT, The word Kalifonia viii also
probably be found in the vast stores of Arabic
Espanol tones. at Madrid of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, in reference to the
State province of kalifon (grand kaliD;
Just as presidential will be found to mean the
district or Jurisdiction Of presdente; in
tendenca of intendente; Residential, the
domain of a residente. But how did the
creep in to make Kalifona read Kalifornia ?
Well, there is no knowing. 1t got in some
how / have never seen the original, Las
Century Dictionary Of Names and do not
believe there is anybody in America who has
seen it, but am pretty confident the word
'Kalifornia." The So probably slipped in,
as in a Mexicanoismo. during the old Inisiones
period of a couple of centuries ago. Literally.
Il has no right 10 be there. In the spelling
of the word Bolivia (named after the patriot,
BoIivar), an 81 slipped out and an 81" sub
St1tuted ana udnSpOSeu
The initial &C. is entirely wrong. But, as
it is easier to do wrong than right in this
world-especially in spelling-the 60 has the
vogue. Why. even the Russians and the
Greeks-and in fact, all slav races-know
more correctly how to spell the word than
the Americans themselves; for the old-worlders
write 1t (modern stye) Kavlfophia. which
reads in Latin characters, Kalifornia. The
correct division of the word is Kalif-ornia
mot Kali-fornia).
To sum up therefore: The true meaning Of
the word Kalifornia or California is grand
kalifat from the Arabic Espanol kaliton, a
State Of the kalfon).