chief

/ˈtʃif/CHEEF
/ˈtʃif/CHEEF

Meaninghead

Common meaning: most important person or leader

Journey through time

  1. Latincaput‘head’source
  2. Old Frenchchef‘chief’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftshead → most important person or leaderchief‘most important person or leader’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin caput ‘head’.

Roots

Related words

capitationchieftain

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