Lexic.us

Definition of Chieftain

1. Noun. The leader of a group of people. "A captain of industry"

Definition of Chieftain

1. n. A captain, leader, or commander; a chief; the head of a troop, army, or clan.

Definition of Chieftain

1. Noun. A leader of a clan or tribe. ¹

2. Noun. A leader of a group, e.g. a robbers' chieftain. ¹

3. Noun. (capitalized) The name of a British military tank. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Chieftain

1. [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Chieftain

Literary usage of Chieftain

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Iliad of Homer by Homer, John Graham Cordery (1871)
"Achilles came the chieftain : but, alas, No more they turn'd them to the war; ... Nor, though they mourn'd their chieftain, lack'd they long A leader ..."

2. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Charles George Herbermann (1913)
"In 444 a site for a church was granted at Armagh by Daire, the chieftain of the district. It was in a valley at the foot of a hill, but the saint was not ..."

3. Ancient laws of Ireland by Ireland, John O'Donovan, Eugene O'Curry, William Neilson Hancock, Thaddeus O'Mahony, Alexander George Richey, William Maunsell Hennessy, Robert Atkinson (1901)
"and dire : for chieftain trees, the lowest dire-nne was 8 ... of the chieftain trees is declared to be the same as the dire of the plebeian trees, ..."

4. Studies in History and Jurisprudence by James Bryce Bryce (1901)
"... a chieftain rather than a priest in our sense of the word 2. His powers as a chieftain were very indefinite, as indeed had been those of the local ..."

5. The History of Modern Europe: With an Account of the Decline and Fall of the by William Russell (1802)
"Their primitive government was a kind of military democracy, under a general or chieftain, who had commonly the title of king. Matters of little consequence ..."

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