Etymology

chieftain

C3H4I1E1F4T1A1I1N1

Today it means: A leader of a clan or tribe. Full definition →

Middle English cheveteyn ← Old French chevetaine ← Late Latin capitāneus
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kap-
  2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kauput-
  3. Latin · derived fromcaput“head”
  4. Late Latin · derived fromcapitāneus
  5. Old French · derived fromchevetaine
  6. Middle English · inherited fromcheveteyn
  7. English todaychieftain

From Middle English cheveteyn, cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capitāneus (English captain), from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head), itself from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Doublet of captain; related to chief.

Words from the same roots

Late Latincapitāneus all →

captain

Latincaput all →

capeachievecapcaptainchefcorporalmischiefcabochoncaddiejefecaputcaudillocadelcapitecapitellumcapitulecattleheadchapemulticipital

Proto-Indo-European*kauput- all →

cadelcapitellumcattlehead

Proto-Indo-European*kap- all →

heavycaptainoccupationcapitalismheftcaddieprecipicecapitalisticcapitulationcapitulateprecipitantcadelcapitellumkapala

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.