different between chieftain vs potentate
chieftain
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)
- A leader of a clan or tribe.
- (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)
- chieftain
- (possibly) schore; leader of a Highlands clan
References
- “chieftain” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
chieftain From the web:
- chieftaincy meaning
- chieftain meaning
- chieftainship meaning
- what chieftainess mean
- what does chieftain mean
- what is chieftains
- what is chieftaincy dispute
- what is chieftaincy institution
potentate
English
Etymology
From Middle English potentat, from Old French, from Late Latin potent?tus (“rule, political power”), from Latin pot?ns (“powerful, strong”), the active present participle of possum (“I am able”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?p??.t?n.te?t/
- (US) IPA(key): /?po?.t?n.te?t/
Noun
potentate (plural potentates)
- A powerful leader; a monarch; a ruler.
- 1592, Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, act iii, scene 2
- But Kings and mightie?t Potentates mu?t die,
For that's the end of humane mi?erie.
- But Kings and mightie?t Potentates mu?t die,
- 1900, Theodore Dreiser, "Sister Carrie"
- She was now one of a group of oriental beauties who, in the second act of the comic opera, were paraded by the vizier before the new potentate as the treasures of his harem.
- 1592, Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, act iii, scene 2
- A powerful polity or institution.
- (derogatory) A self-important person.
Usage notes
This term usually carries connotations or implications of ancient despotism before advanced Western conceptions of civil law and Enlightenment values; in other words, a potentate can be described as a king or realm that exercises "raw", absolute power by decree and entrenched in "exotic" customs and traditions (cf. Orientalism). For example, a "Hindu potentate" would refer to those petty kings who controlled various small dominions in India before the British Raj. Particularly in the second sense, use of "potentate" to refer to Western states even before the modern era is rare, and may even be intended humorously in such a case.
Related terms
Translations
Adjective
potentate (comparative more potentate, superlative most potentate)
- (obsolete) Regnant, powerful, dominant.
potentate From the web:
- potentate meaning
- potentate what is the definition
- what does potentate mean in the bible
- what do potentate mean
- what is potentate ball
- what does potentate of time mean
- what does potentate mean in english
- what does potentate mean in greek
you may also like
- chieftain vs potentate
- collecting vs muster
- unsuitable vs unfitting
- judiciousness vs discrimination
- hinder vs direct
- assembly vs party
- ludicrous vs droll
- affectionate vs consanguineous
- undetermined vs enigmatic
- standard vs established
- inexpressive vs bewildering
- powerful vs influential
- laurels vs tribute
- close vs unfriendly
- boost vs refinement
- indicative vs distinctive
- plentifully vs profusely
- honest vs stainless
- decisive vs unavoidable
- legislate vs impose