Etymology

sachem

sa·chem
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Today it means: A chief of one or several Native American tribe(s), especially of the Algonquians; a sagamore. Full definition →

First used early 17th c.Narragansett sachem ← Proto-Algonquian *sa·kima·wa
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The story

  1. Proto-Algonquian · derived from*sa·kima·wa
  2. Narragansett · borrowed fromsachem
  3. English todaysachem

Borrowed from Narragansett sachem; compare Mi'kmaq saqamaw (“chief”) and Unami sakima (“chief”), all ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *sa·kima·wa. Doublet of sagamore.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Algonquian*sa·kima·wa all →

sagamore

First known use, by meaning

  • from early 17th c. A chief of one or several Native American tribe(s), especially of the Algonquians; a sagamore.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.