chieftain means A leader of a clan or tribe. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 74 out of 100.
chieftain is pronounced /ˈt͡ʃiːf.tən/.
Why “chieftain” is a great word
CHIEFTAIN — [Noun] The hereditary or traditional leader of a clan, tribe, or similar kinship-based group. From Middle English cheveteyn, cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capitaneus ("chief, leader"), from Latin caput ("head"). First recorded in English 1275–1325. Unlike "captain," which denotes a formal military or naval rank, or "monarch," which implies sovereignty over a nation-state, a chieftain’s authority flows from bloodline and the ancient customs of a people. It is the fire-lit silhouette of a man whose face is carved with the same lines as the standing stones on the moor; the voice that settles a cattle raid not with a decree but with a proverb older than the feud; the hand that holds a scepter of carved oak, not gold. His power is as local and as enduring as the hills that bound his territory.
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), itself from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Doublet of captain; related to chief.
noun
- A leader of a clan or tribe.“VI. THE PUYUMA GROUP.
The tribes belonging to this group occupy the plains in Hinan and that neighbourhood, and call themselves "Puyumas," but the Chinese call them the "Hinan Savages". The Puyumas formed a very powerful State some 300 years ago, and united under one single rule as many as seventy isolated tribes scattered over the land, stretching from Hakusekikwaku and Seikoko to Harogwai in the”
- A leader of a group.“The robber chieftain divided up the spoils.”