I. ˈchēf noun
( plural chiefs ˈchēfs sometimes -ēvz)
Etymology: Middle English chief, chef, from Old French chief, chef, from Latin caput head — more at head
1.
a. obsolete : the top or uppermost part : head
b. heraldry
(1) : the upper part of the field — compare escutcheon 1
(2) : a horizontal band at the top of the field
2.
a. : the head or leader of any body of men : a commander (as of an army) or a headman (as of a tribe, clan, or family)
b. : the directing head of a political party, government bureau or department, or office organization
chief of mission
also : one's superior in such a body
c. : an officer in charge of any of certain branches or departments of the service — used in titles
Chief of Staff
Chief of Ordnance
d. : a chief officer of a department of government
Chief of Police
Fire Chief
e. : chief petty officer
3. : the principal part : the most valuable portion
this London where the chief of his life must pass — John Galsworthy
•
- in chief
II. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English chef, chief, from chef, chief, n.
1. : accorded highest rank, office, or rating
chief executive
: superior in authority, power, or influence
chief prelate of our church, archbishop, first in council — Alfred Tennyson
2. : marked by greatest importance, significance, influence : salient : subordinating other persons, things, items of the same kind or class
his chief fame rests on his important volumes — A.V.W.Jackson
3. now chiefly Scotland : intimate , friendly , close
a whisperer separates chief friends — Prov 16:28 (Revised Standard Version)
Synonyms:
principal , main , leading. foremost, capital all indicate first in importance and are often interchangeable. chief may stress the fact of the existence of subordinate matters
so many young people of today have lost sight of the fact that duty, not pleasure, is the chief aim of living — Ellen Glasgow
one of the performances I remember extremely vividly, because the chief turn consisted of four performing elephants — Osbert Sitwell
principal is likely to indicate greatest importance or power and influence, with other matters as minor
after summing all the rest, religion ruling in the breast, a principal ingredient — William Cowper
the central point of interest, unforgotten, absorbing, principal — Matthew Arnold
the country of the Shilluk is almost entirely in grass, hence the principal wealth of the people consists in their flocks and herds — J.G.Frazer
main stresses greater size, power, or importance
the main line express services tended to further this concentration, and the feeder lines and cross country services ran down, died out, or were deliberately extirpated — Lewis Mumford
the literary critic … will yet find, like the historian, his main subject-matter in the past — L.P.Smith
leading stresses precedence or coming before others in a series, sequence, or progression
if John of Gaunt was fallen from his old power he was still the leading noble in the realm — J.R.Green
Massachusetts furnished one of the leading defenders of the disturbing views of Darwin in the person of Asa Gray Fisher, professor of botany at Harvard — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
foremost is often the equivalent of leading but may more strongly suggest the notion of a course, race, chase, or contest
within a year the Bulletin had outstripped all other papers in the city, winning recognition as the foremost champion of the people's right — American Guide Series: California
the clock has been the foremost machine in modern technics: and at each period it has remained in the lead: it marks a perfection toward which other machines aspire — Lewis Mumford
capital stresses the idea of major significance or importance
the capital as well as the trivial sins — Henry Miller
III. adverb
Etymology: chief (II)
archaic : chiefly , principally