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Chief   /tʃif/   Listen
adjective
Chief  adj.  
1.
Highest in office or rank; principal; head. "Chief rulers."
2.
Principal or most eminent in any quality or action; most distinguished; having most influence; taking the lead; most important; as, the chief topic of conversation; the chief interest of man.
3.
Very intimate, near, or close. (Obs.) "A whisperer separateth chief friends."
Synonyms: Principal; head; leading; main; paramount; supreme; prime; vital; especial; great; grand; eminent; master.


noun
Chief  n.  
1.
The head or leader of any body of men; a commander, as of an army; a head man, as of a tribe, clan, or family; a person in authority who directs the work of others; the principal actor or agent.
2.
The principal part; the most valuable portion. "The chief of the things which should be utterly destroyed."
3.
(Her.) The upper third part of the field. It is supposed to be composed of the dexter, sinister, and middle chiefs.
In chief.
(a)
At the head; as, a commander in chief.
(b)
(Eng. Law) From the king, or sovereign; as, tenure in chief, tenure directly from the king.
Synonyms: Chieftain; captain; general; commander; leader; head; principal; sachem; sagamore; sheik. Chief, chieftain, Commander, Leader. These words fluctuate somewhat in their meaning according to circumstances, but agree in the general idea of rule and authority. The term chief is now more usually applied to one who is a head man, leader, or commander in civil or military affairs, or holds a hereditary or acquired rank in a tribe or clan; as, the chief of police; the chief of an Indian tribe. A chieftain is the chief of a clan or tribe, or a military leader. A commander directs the movements of or has control over a body of men, as a military or naval force. A leader is one whom men follow, as in a political party, a legislative body, a military or scientific expedition, etc., one who takes the command and gives direction in particular enterprises.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Chief" Quotes from Famous Books



... comparison with the laws passed by the legislature in the following May. Governor Talcott, tolerant toward all religious dissenters, had recently died, and the conservative Jonathan Law of Milford was in the chair of the chief magistrate. Governor Law had grown up among the traditions of that narrow ecclesiasticism which had always marked the territory of the old New Haven Colony. Moreover, the measures of the Consociation had been futile. One of ...
— The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut • M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.
... It was sent by the chief surgeon of a field-hospital; and it was dated from a village in the north ...
— The Law and the Lady • Wilkie Collins
... he obtained the rank of the greatest of all the gods. Former Buddhas who had lived in former ages still lived as gods; and the divine family, being once founded, admitted of various additions; even a popular deity, such as Indra, could be joined to the growing circle. The chief scenes of the life of the founder became holy places and objects of pilgrimage, where relics were exposed for adoration. The growth of legend and of magic proceeded more rapidly, and went to greater lengths, in Northern than in Southern Buddhism; but in the land of its birth, too, Buddhism ...
— History of Religion - A Sketch of Primitive Religious Beliefs and Practices, and of the Origin and Character of the Great Systems • Allan Menzies
... that it was her duty to send for a doctor. "My dear Mrs. Tiralla," he said, "invoking divine help is certainly—h'm"—he cleared his throat, those wide-open, staring eyes made him quite confused—"divine help is certainly the chief thing, but human help is not to be dispensed with. Your husband seems very ill, really dangerously ill, why won't you have a doctor? You must ...
— Absolution • Clara Viebig
... The chief was consulted and asked by signs whether the attacking party from the north side was his own people, and he shook his head in the negative. This proved, beyond doubt, that at least three different people inhabited the island to ...
— The Wonder Island Boys: The Tribesmen • Roger Finlay


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