chief
English
Etymology
From Middle English cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (possibly related to English cap (“head covering”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-. Doublet of cape, capo, caput, and chef through Latin, and head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.
Pronunciation
Noun
chief (plural chiefs)
- A leader or head of a group of people, organisation, etc. [from 13th c.]
- 1857 May 11 [1856 March 1], A. S. Waugh, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, page 346:
- In virtue of this privilege, in testimony of my affectionate respect for a revered chief, in conformity with what I believe to be the wish of all the Members of the scientific department, over which I have the honour to preside, and to perpetuate the memory of that illustrious master of accurate geographical research, I have determined to name this noble peak of the Himalayas ‘ Mont Everest.’
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 4:
- My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom.
- All firefighters report to the fire chief.
- (heraldry) The top part of a shield or escutcheon; more specifically, an ordinary consisting of the upper part of the field cut off by a horizontal line, generally occupying the top third. [from 15th c.]
- 1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:
- When the Chief is Charged with any figure, in blazon it is said to be "On a Chief".
- The principal part or top of anything.
- (sometimes ironic) An informal term of address.
- 1951, J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 119:
- “How old are you, chief?” the elevator guy said.
- (US, Canada, offensive) An informal term of address for a Native American or First Nations man.
Synonyms
- chieftain
- See also Thesaurus:boss
Hyponyms
- chiefess (female chief)
Derived terms
English terms starting with “chief”
- air chief marshal
- arch-chief
- archchief
- band chief
- base chief
- big white chief
- case-in-chief
- case in chief
- champion in chief
- champion-in-chief
- chief cell
- chief constable
- chief cook and bottle-washer
- chief cook and bottle washer
- chiefdom
- chiefery
- chiefess
- chief executive
- chief executive officer/CEO
- chief experience officer
- chief financial officer
- chief hare
- chiefhood
- chiefie
- chief information officer
- chief judge
- chief-justice
- chief justice
- chief legal officer
- chiefless
- chiefling
- chief lord
- chiefly
- chief magistrate
- chief mate
- chief minister
- chiefness
- chief of party
- chief of staff
- chief of state
- chief operating officer
- chief petty officer
- chief petty officer first class
- chief petty officer second class
- chief rent
- chiefry
- chief scientist
- chiefship
- chief super
- chief technical officer
- chief technological officer
- chief technology officer
- chieftess
- cochief
- commander-in-chief
- commander in chief
- condoled chief
- crew chief
- dexter chief
- editor in chief
- editor-in-chief
- examination-in-chief
- fire chief
- in chief
- master chief petty officer
- overchief
- per chief
- police chief
- redactor-in-chief
- senior chief petty officer
- subchief
- tenant-in-chief
- too many chiefs and not enough Indians
- tribal chief
- umpire-in-chief
- underchief
- vassal-in-chief
- war chief
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Adjective
chief (comparative chiefer or more chief, superlative chiefest or most chief)
- Primary; principal.
- Negligence was the chief cause of the disaster.
- 1727, Tobias Swinden, “The Improbability of Hell Fire’s Being in, or about the Center of the Earth”, in An Enquiry into the Nature and Place of Hell. […] With a Supplement, wherein the Notions of A[rch]b[isho]p [John] Tillotson, Dr. Lupton, and Others, as to the Eternity of Hell Torments, are Impartially Represented. And the Rev. Mr. Wall’s Sentiments of this Learned Work, 2nd edition, London: Printed by H. P. for Tho[mas] Astley, at the Dolphin and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard, →OCLC, pages 98–99:
- […] But when we find that they [volcanoes] are but few in Number, and the chiefeſt of thoſe too near the torrid Zone, and from their Tops to iſſue forth, now clear Fire, then thick, black Smoke, and ſometimes little or nothing at all; we muſt conclude, that they are only particular Fires, probably of the Sun’s kindling at firſt, and ſince continued by the caſual and incidental Applications of that Pabulum, which thoſe Part of the Earth adminiſter to them.
- 2011, Roy F. Baumeister, John Tierney, Willpower, →ISBN, page 113:
- Researchers found that one of the chief effects of drinking was to reduce people's ability to monitor their own behavior.
- (Scotland) Intimate, friendly.
- 2006, James Robertson, The Testament of Gideon Mack, page 324:
- 'You’re doing it because she was your friend, not because she was a parishioner, and certainly not because of the Declaratory Articles,' Macmurray said, pushing himself forward on his seat. 'Everybody knows how chief you and she were. It was an unfitting relationship for a minister while she was alive, and it is equally unfitting for you to do her a favour like this now she's dead.'
Translations
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Verb
chief (third-person singular simple present chiefs, present participle chiefing, simple past and past participle chiefed)
- (slang) To smoke cannabis.
- 2012, Marquis "Cream" Cureton, When the Smoke Clears (page 268)
- He chiefed on the bud like a pro, taking long deep hits and holding it within until he had inhaled as much of the weed smoke as he could.
- 2012, Marquis "Cream" Cureton, When the Smoke Clears (page 268)
See also
References
- “chief v.2”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
Anagrams
Middle English
Noun
chief
- Alternative form of chef
Adjective
chief
- Alternative form of chef
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French chief.
Noun
chief m (plural chiefs)
Descendants
- French: chef (see there for further descendants)
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
First known attestation 881 in The Sequence of Saint Eulalia. From Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput.
Pronunciation
Noun
chief oblique singular, m (oblique plural chiés, nominative singular chiés, nominative plural chief)
- (anatomy) head
- c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- Le chief li desarme et la face.
- He exposed his head and his face.
- leader, chief
- front (foremost side of something)
Descendants
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kap-
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kap- (head)
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/iːf
- Rhymes:English/iːf/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Heraldic charges
- American English
- Canadian English
- English offensive terms
- English adjectives
- Scottish English
- English verbs
- English slang
- en:Leaders
- en:People
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle French terms inherited from Old French
- Middle French terms derived from Old French
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French masculine nouns
- Middle French countable nouns
- Old French terms inherited from Vulgar Latin
- Old French terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns
- fro:Anatomy
- Old French terms with quotations