different between chieftain vs sheik

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.

English

Alternative forms

• sheikh, shaykh

Etymology

From Arabic ?????? (šay?, “elder”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?e?k/, /?i?k/
• Rhymes: -e?k, -i?k
• Homophones: shake, chic

Noun

sheik (plural sheiks)

1. The leader of an Arab village, family or small tribe.
2. An Islamic religious cleric; the leader of an Islamic religious order.
3. (some Arab Gulf countries) An official title for members of the royal family as well as some prominent families.
4. (1920s) A romantic lover. (from the 1921 film The Sheik)
   • 1939, George Orwell, Coming Up for Air, part 1, chapter 1:

     When your last natural tooth goes, the time when you can kid yourself that you're a Hollywood sheik, is definitely at an end.

5. (slang) An Arab, especially one dressed in traditional clothing.
6. An honorific for specialists in spirituality.

Usage notes

The use for a religious leader is colloquial as a means of respect. There is no official title.

Related terms

• sheikha

Translations

Anagrams

• hikes

Dutch

Etymology

From Arabic ?????? (šay?), from ?????? (š??a, “to age, grow old”).

Pronunciation

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /??i?k/
• (Flanders) IPA^(key): /???k/
• Rhymes: -?i?k

Noun

sheik m (plural sheiks, diminutive sheikje n)

1. sheik