chief
English
Etymology
From Middle English chef, borrowed from Old French chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin *capum (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap (“head covering”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head).
Pronunciation
Noun
chief (plural chiefs)
- A leader or head of a group of people, organisation, etc. [from 13th c.]
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 4:
- My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom.
- All firefighters report to the fire chief.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 4:
- (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".
- 1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:
- The principal part or top of anything.
- An informal, ironic address to an equal.
- Hey, chief.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:boss
Derived terms
Terms derived from chief (noun)
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
leader of group, etc.
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head of an organization
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heraldic term
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informal address
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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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, obsolete) Intimate.
Translations
primary; principal
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Verb
chief (third-person singular simple present chiefs, present participle chiefing, simple past and past participle chiefed)
- (US, 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
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 *capum, from Latin caput.
Pronunciation
Noun
chief oblique singular, m (oblique plural chiés, nominative singular chiés, nominative plural chief)
- (anatomy) head
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- Le chief li desarme et la face.
- He exposed his head and his face.
- Le chief li desarme et la face.
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- leader, chief
- front (foremost side of something)
Descendants
Categories:
- 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 terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
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- Rhymes:English/iːf
- English lemmas
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- en:Heraldic charges
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- Scottish English
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- en:People
- Middle English lemmas
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- Middle French terms inherited from Old French
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- Middle French lemmas
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- Old French terms inherited from Vulgar Latin
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- fro:Anatomy