— chieftaincy, chieftainship , n.
/cheef"teuhn, -tin/ , n.
1. the chief of a clan or a tribe.
2. a leader of a group, band, etc.: the robbers' chieftain.
3. ( cap. ) Mil. Britain's main battle tank since 1969, fitted with a 120mm gun and two machine guns and weighing 55 tons (50 m tons).
[ 1275-1325; ME cheftayne, var. of chevetaine capitaneus CAPTAIN ]