Etymology

jefe

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Today it means: An officer with political influence; a head or chief in government, such as a sheriff, particularly where that person is Hispanic or of Mexican descent. Full definition →

Spanish jefe ← Old French chief ← Latin caput
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromcaput
  2. Old French · derived fromchief
  3. Spanish · borrowed fromjefe“leader, boss”
  4. English todayjefe

Borrowed from Spanish jefe (“leader, boss”), from Old French chief, from Latin caput. Doublet of chief, chef, caput, and head.

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchchief all →

chef

Latincaput all →

capeachievecapcaptainchefcorporalmischiefchieftaincabochoncaddiecaputcaudillocadelcapitecapitellumcapitulecattleheadchapemulticipital

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.