Etymologically
Log in

chief

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:44. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tʃiːf/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English chef, chief, borrowed from Old French chief, chef (“head, leader, ruler; capital city”),[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *capum, the source also of Spanish cabo and Italian capo,[2][3][5] from Latin caput (“head”),[2][6] from Proto-Indo-European *kaput- (“head”).[2][6] It is a doublet of chef.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The head of a body of people or an organization: 1297,[7][8] or about 1300.[3][2] The adjective, “highest in rank”, is also from 1297.[7]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense “head” is from about 1330 and the top of anything from about 1400, both obsolete.[7] In heraldry the upper part of the shield is the chief, from before 1440,[7][9] and in feudal law in chief meant held directly from the lord.[9] The head of a clan is from the 1570s,[2] or 1587,[7] and later of Native American peoples by 1713.[2] Commander-in-chief is from the 1660s.[2] A superior officer, one's boss, is from 1606.[7]

Timeline

  • 1297 – a leader; adjective, highest in rank.[7]
  • c. 1330 – the head (obsolete).[7]
  • before 1440 – in heraldry.[7]
  • 1587 – the head of a clan.[7]
  • 1606 – a superior officer.[7]
  • 1660s – commander-in-chief.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person highest in rank or authority; a leader.
  2. The head of a clan or tribe.
  3. (informal) A boss.
  4. (heraldry) The upper part of a shield.

Adjective

  1. Highest in rank or authority.
  2. Most important; principal.

Word family

  • chiefdom
  • chiefship
  • chiefless
  • subchief
  • underchief
  • chief of staff
  • chief of state

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary compares chief with principal, main, leading, foremost and primary.[10] In Scots chief could mean “intimate, friendly”.[11]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)