Etymology

californite

C3A1L1I1F4O1R1N1I1T1E1

Today it means: A green vesuvianite found in California, resembling jade and used as a gemstone. Full definition →

English California ← Spanish California ← French calife
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The story

  1. Proto-Semitic*ḫalap-
  2. Arabicخَلَفَ (ḵalafa)
  3. Arabicخَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa)
  4. Medieval Latincalīpha
  5. Old Frenchcaliphe
  6. Middle Frenchcalife
  7. Frenchcalife
  8. Spanishcalifa
  9. SpanishCalifornia
  10. EnglishCalifornia
  11. English todaycalifornite

From California + -ite.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.