chieftain
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chieftain
- /ˈt͡ʃiːf.tən/
- /ˈt͡ʃiːf.tɪn/
Where it comes from
From Middle English cheveteyn, cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capitaneus (English captain), from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head), itself from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Doublet of captain; related to chief.
noun chieftains
- A leader of a clan or tribe. VI. THE PUYUMA GROUP. The tribes belonging to this group occupy the plains in Hinan and that neighbourhood, and call themselves "Puyumas," but the Chinese call them the "Hinan Savages". The Puyumas formed a very powerful State some 300 years ago, and united under one single rule as many as seventy i
- A leader of a group. The robber chieftain divided up the spoils.
