chief
/t͡ʃiːf/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.11 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
noun
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.
noun
The principal part or top of anything.
noun
Example Sentences
- "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.’"
- "My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom."
- "All firefighters report to the fire chief."
- "Bob is our troubleshooter in chief."
- "When the Chief is Charged with any figure, in blazon it is said to be "On a Chief"."
- "The shield was silver, charged with a red cross voided (that is, with the centre cut out and only the edges left), between in chief (that is, above the horizontal limb of the cross) two black dragon's wings, and in base two red daggers, and in the centre of the cross a black winged helmet; on a red chief (a broad band across the top of the shield), a silver pale (a broad vertical band), and thereon eight black arrows crossed X-wise, four and four, and encircled with a black band, between on the dexter three bendlets (narrow bands slanting from dexter chief to sinister base) enhanced (that is, raised above the centre), and on the sinister a fleur-de-lis, all of gold."
Etymology
Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput Proto-Italic *kaput Latin caput Vulgar Latin capus Old French chiefbor. Middle English chef English chief Inherited from Middle English chef, borrowed from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput, from *kap-, possibly from *kap-, possibly borrowed from a substrate language. Doublet of cape (“point of land”), capo, caput, and chef through Latin (possibly also related to cape (“sleeveless garment”) and cap (“head covering”) from Latin cappa); doublet of head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.
Usage
Inflected Forms
chiefs (plural)
chiefer (comparative)
more chief (comparative)
chiefest (superlative)
most chief (superlative)
chiefs (present, singular)
chiefing (participle, present)
chiefed (participle, past)
chiefed (past)