Meanings
plural chieftainesses
- A female chieftain.
Mrs. Douse was more important than Mr. Douse; she was a chieftainess in her own right, and had great dignity.
1941, Emily Carr, chapter 20, in Klee Wyck1 more example
He gazed in silence for some minutes upon the body of Meg Merrilies, as it lay before him, with the features sharpened by death, yet still retaining the stern and energetic character which had maintained in life her superiority as the wild chieftainess of the lawless people amongst whom she was born.
1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], “chapter ?”, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From chieftain + -ess. Middle English had an equivalent form cheventaynes but the OED asserts the term was derived anew in modern English in the 19th century. Piecewise doublet of captainess.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Māori tapairu
- tapairua female chieftain
Vietnamese nữ tù trưởng
- nữ tù trưởnga female chieftain
Cite this entry
chieftainess. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chieftainess
“chieftainess.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chieftainess. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chieftainess,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chieftainess.
Source: chieftainess on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.