chieftain C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈtʃiftən/ UK /ˈtʃiːftən/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the leader of a clan, tribe, or band The clan chieftain rallied his warriors before the battle. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the leader of a clan,... chiefleaderheadheadmanrulercommandersachem ↔ Opposites subordinatefollowersubject Word family Derived forms chieftaincychieftainship Related forms chiefcaptain Etymology AI details From Old French chevetaine ('captain, leader'), from Late Latin capitāneus ('chief'), from Latin caput ('head'). A doublet of captain. chevetaine Old French capitāneus la-lat caput Latin View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # chieftain **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈtʃiftən/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈtʃiːftən/ ## Meanings 1. the leader of a clan, tribe, or band ## Examples - The clan chieftain rallied his warriors before the battle. ## Synonyms - chief - leader - head - headman - ruler - commander - sachem ## Antonyms - subordinate - follower - subject ## Derived Forms - chieftaincy - chieftainship ## Related Forms - chief - captain ## Roots and Affixes - Root: chevetaine - Root: capitāneus - Root: caput ## Etymology From Old French chevetaine ('captain, leader'), from Late Latin capitāneus ('chief'), from Latin caput ('head'). A doublet of captain. ## AI Etymology Chieftain is from Old French chevetaine ('captain, leader'), from Late Latin capitāneus ('chief'), from Latin caput ('head'). A doublet of captain. Important recorded forms include chevetaine (Old French), capitāneus (Latin), and caput (Latin). The current sense covers the leader of a clan, tribe, or band. The wider family includes derived forms such as chieftaincy and chieftainship and related words such as chief and captain. ## Topics - People & Society markdown