— chiefless , adj. — chiefship , n.
/cheef/ , n.
1. the head or leader of an organized body of people; the person highest in authority: the chief of police.
2. the head or ruler of a tribe or clan: an Indian chief.
3. ( cap. ) U.S. Army. a title of some advisers to the Chief of Staff, who do not, in most instances, command the troop units of their arms or services: Chief of Engineers; Chief Signal Officer.
4. Informal. boss or leader: We'll have to talk to the chief about this.
5. Heraldry.
a. the upper area of an escutcheon.
b. an ordinary occupying this area.
6. in chief ,
a. in the chief position; highest in rank (used in combination): editor in chief; commander in chief.
b. Heraldry. in the upper part of an escutcheon.
adj.
7. highest in rank or authority: the chief priest; the chief administrator.
8. most important; principal: his chief merit; the chief difficulty.
adv.
9. Archaic. chiefly; principally.
[ 1250-1300; ME chief, chef, OF chef capum, re-formation of L caput HEAD ]
Syn. 8. foremost, leading, prime, paramount, cardinal. See capital 1 .
Ant. 7. subordinate.