chieftain

plural chieftains

1. A leader of a clan or tribe.

   They were probably the work of individual craftsmen working to meet the chieftains' needs. Their place in the chronology of the big cemeteries is indicated by the less richly-decorated double-springed bronze brooches which are found here.

   1970, Kazimierz Godłowski, “The chronology of the Late Roman and early migration periods in Central Europe”, in Acta scientiarum litterarumque: Schedae archeologicae, Nakładem Uniwersytetu Jagiellonśkiego, page 22

   1 more example

   VI. THE PUYUMA GROUP. The tribes belonging to this group occupy the plains in Hinan and that neighbourhood, and call themselves "Puyumas," but the Chinese call them the "Hinan Savages". The Puyumas formed a very powerful State some 300 years ago, and united under one single rule as many as seventy isolated tribes scattered over the land, stretching from Hakusekikwaku and Seikoko to Harogwai in the southern part of the island, and were at one time so powerful that the chieftain was called by foreigners "The King of Hinan".

   1907, Yosaburo Takekoshi, “THE SAVAGES AND THEIR TERRITORY.”, in George Braithwaite, transl., Japanese Rule in Formosa, Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 225

   Synonyms: chief, big gun, big shot, big wheel, bigwig, boss, employer, foreman

2. broadlyA leader of a group.

   The robber chieftain divided up the spoils.