different between chairman vs chieftain

English

Etymology

From chair +? -man

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?t???m?n/

Noun

chairman (plural chairmen)

1. A person presiding over a meeting.
2. The head of a corporate or governmental board of directors, a committee, or other formal entity.
3. (historical) Someone whose job is to carry people in a portable chair, sedan chair, or similar conveyance.

Usage notes

• Historically this term denoted a man, but it is now also used for women. Gender-neutral terms could be chairperson or just chair.

Coordinate terms

• chairwoman

Hypernyms

• chair, chairperson
• presiding officer, presider

Derived terms

• vice chairman, vice-chairman
• cochairman

Translations

Verb

chairman (third-person singular simple present chairmans, present participle chairmanning, simple past and past participle chairmanned)

1. To serve as chairman.

Anagrams

• Charmian

English

Etymology

From Middle English cheveteyn, cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capitaneus (English captain), from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head). Doublet of captain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?i?f.t?n/, /?t?i?f.t?n/

Noun

chieftain (plural chieftains)

1. A leader of a clan or tribe.
2. (by extension) A leader of a group.

Synonyms

• (leader of a clan or tribe): chief, big gun, big shot, big wheel, bigwig, boss, employer, foreman, head, leader, mandarin, manager, mover and shaker, top banana, top dog, tycoon

Derived terms

• chieftainess

Translations

Scots

Etymology

From Early Scots chefftane, from Middle English cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capitaneus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t?iften]

Noun

chieftain (plural chieftains)

1. chieftain
2. (possibly) schore; leader of a Highlands clan

References

• “chieftain” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.