chief

Etymology

From Middle English cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput. 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃiːf/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːf

Noun

chief (plural chiefs)

2. The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group. [from 13th c.]
   • 1857 May 11 [1856 March 1], A. S. Waugh, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, page 346:

     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.’

   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 4:

     My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom.

   All firefighters report to the fire chief.

3. (uncountable, only with "in") Headship, the status of being a chief or leader.

   Bob is our troubleshooter in chief.

4. (heraldry) 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. [from 15th c.]
   • 1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:

     When the Chief is Charged with any figure, in blazon it is said to be "On a Chief".

5. The principal part or top of anything.
6. (sometimes ironic) An informal term of address.
   • 1951, J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 119:

     “How old are you, chief?” the elevator guy said.

   1. (offensive) An informal term of address for a Native American or First Nations man.

Adjective

chief (comparative chiefer or more chief, superlative chiefest or most chief)

1. Primary; principal.

   Negligence was the chief cause of the disaster.

   • 1727, Tobias Swinden, “The Improbability of Hell Fire’s Being in, or about the Center of the Earth”, in An Enquiry into the Nature and Place of Hell. […] With a Supplement, wherein the Notions of A[rch]b[isho]p [John] Tillotson, Dr. Lupton, and Others, as to the Eternity of Hell Torments, are Impartially Represented. And the Rev. Mr. Wall’s Sentiments of this Learned Work, 2nd edition, London: Printed by H. P. for Tho[mas] Astley, at the Dolphin and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard, →OCLC, pages 98–99:

     […] But when we find that they [volcanoes] are but few in Number, and the chiefeſt of thoſe too near the torrid Zone, and from their Tops to iſſue forth, now clear Fire, then thick, black Smoke, and ſometimes little or nothing at all; we muſt conclude, that they are only particular Fires, probably of the Sun’s kindling at firſt, and ſince continued by the caſual and incidental Applications of that Pabulum, which thoſe Part of the Earth adminiſter to them.

   • 2011, Roy F. Baumeister, John Tierney, Willpower, →ISBN, page 113:

     Researchers found that one of the chief effects of drinking was to reduce people's ability to monitor their own behavior.

2. (Scotland) Intimate, friendly.
   • 2006, James Robertson, The Testament of Gideon Mack, page 324:

     'You’re doing it because she was your friend, not because she was a parishioner, and certainly not because of the Declaratory Articles,' Macmurray said, pushing himself forward on his seat. 'Everybody knows how chief you and she were. It was an unfitting relationship for a minister while she was alive, and it is equally unfitting for you to do her a favour like this now she's dead.'

Verb

chief (third-person singular simple present chiefs, present participle chiefing, simple past and past participle chiefed)

1. (slang) To smoke cannabis.
   • 2012, Marquis "Cream" Cureton, When the Smoke Clears (page 268)

     He chiefed on the bud like a pro, taking long deep hits and holding it within until he had inhaled as much of the weed smoke as he could.

   • 2024 June 3, “Wah Gwan Delilah” (2:04 from the start)‎performed by Snowd4y ft. Drake:

     Wah gwan, Delilah, peeped your batty from afar / The way I'm chiefing on these Russian Creams [referring to a brand of cigar] / My lungs are full of tar, [coughing noise] I'm on the way

See also

References

• “chief v.²”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present

Anagrams

• cheif, fiche, fiché

Noun

chief

1. Alternative form of chef

Adjective

chief

1. Alternative form of chef

Etymology

From Old French chief.

Noun

chief m (plural chiefs)

1. head

Alternative forms

• cap (Occitanism found in La Vie de Saint Léger, circa 980)
• chef, cief

Etymology

First known attestation 881 in The Sequence of Saint Eulalia. From Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʃjeːf/

Noun

chief oblique singular, m (oblique plural chiés, nominative singular chiés, nominative plural chief)

1. (anatomy) head
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     Le chief li desarme et la face.

     He exposed his head and his face.

2. leader, chief
3. front (foremost side of something)