Meaning

2 senses
  1. A leader of a clan or tribe.

    Häuptling

    вождьvoždʹ

    a head of a tribe or clan

  2. (broadly)A leader of a group.

    The robber chieftain divided up the spoils.

    глава́рьglavárʹ, атама́нatamán

    the leader of a group of people

Examples

15 sentences
  1. I'm the chieftain of this tribe.

  2. Can you take me to your chieftain?

  3. The one with the unique headdress is the chieftain.

  4. She was appointed as the chieftain by the goddess herself.

  5. In this tribe, the chieftain is elected by a majority vote.

Translations

8 languages
Русский
By meaning 2
A leader of a clan or tribe:
A leader of a group, e.g. a robbers' chieftain:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
A leader of a clan or tribe:

Origin

From Middle English cheveteyn, cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capi

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.

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chieftain — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto