Etymology

chief

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Today it means: The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group. Full definition →

First used 13th c.Middle English chef ← Old French chief ← Vulgar Latin capus
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chief · noun, adjective, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kap-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*káput
  4. Proto-Italic*kaput
  5. Latincaput
  6. Vulgar Latincapus
  7. Old Frenchchief
  8. Middle Englishchef
  9. English todaychief

Inherited from Middle English chef, borrowed from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput, from *kap-, possibly from *kap-, possibly borrowed from a substrate language. 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.

Chief · proper noun2

Named after an Ojibwe chieftain, or chief.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 13th c. The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
  • from 15th c. 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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.