chieftain

noun

chief·​tain ˈchēf-tən How to pronounce chieftain (audio)
: a chief especially of a band, tribe, or clan
chieftainship noun

Examples of chieftain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In a Rose Garden announcement, Clinton regaled the crowd by noting Richardson had just returned from a rebel chieftain's hut in Sudan. Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2023 In fact, the line is found in a speech that Tacitus quotes (or invents), delivered by a barbarian chieftain, Calgacus, on the eve of a battle against Roman forces. James Romm, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2023 Karthi essayed the role of chieftain Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 Sep. 2023 Wagner’s chieftain Yevgeny Prigozhin is possibly somewhere in Belarus now, presumably under some form of lock and key. Time, 26 June 2023 For the last few months, as the mercenary chieftain Yevgeny V. Prigozhin escalated his feud with the Russian military, Mr. Putin did not publicly reveal any discomfort with his diatribes. Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 24 June 2023 Late Saturday and Sunday, social media images circulated of locals cheering and posing for selfies with the paramilitary chieftain as his forces pulled back from the city — a sight that may have been unnerving to Putin and his allies. Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2023 King Charles became chieftain of the games in 2002, following in the footsteps of his late mother. Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 7 Aug. 2023 Christopher Cawley has been collecting antiques — a pair of red-velvet and gold-silk panels from Venice, a chieftain’s chair from Thailand, 17th-century tapestries — since his grandfather began taking him to flea markets around Philadelphia as a child. Curbed, 3 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chieftain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English chieftaine, from Anglo-French chevetain, from Late Latin capitaneus chief — more at captain

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chieftain was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near chieftain

Cite this Entry

“Chieftain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chieftain. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

chieftain

noun
chief·​tain ˈchēf-tən How to pronounce chieftain (audio)
: a chief especially of a band, tribe, or clan
chieftaincy
-sē
noun
chieftainship noun

More from Merriam-Webster on chieftain

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