chieftainess en · NOUN
Etymology
From chieftain + -ess. Middle English had an equivalent form cheventaynes but the OED asserts the term was derived anew in modern English in the 19th century. Piecewise doublet of captainess.
Meanings
-
A female chieftain.
He gazed in silence for some minutes upon the body of Meg Merrilies, as it lay before him, with the features sharpened by death, yet still retaining the stern and energetic character which had maintained in life her superiority as the wild chieftainess of the lawless people amongst whom she was born.
1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], “chapter ?”, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:Mrs. Douse was more important than Mr. Douse; she was a chieftainess in her own right, and had great dignity.
1941, Emily Carr, chapter 20, in Klee Wyck:
- The wife of a chieftain.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chieftainesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Hypernyms
Synonyms
Translations (2)
vi nữ tù trưởng (a female chieftain) · mi tapairu (a female chieftain)