chieftess

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English

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Etymology

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An irregular form from chief or chieftain +‎ -ess.

Noun

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chieftess (plural chieftesses)

  1. Synonym of chieftainess: a female chieftain or the wife of a chief.
    • "This heroine was ever after treated by her nation as their deliverer, and made a chieftess in her own right, with the liberty to entail the same honour on her descendants ..." New travels among the Indians of North America, William Fisher, ed., p. 294; attributed to Rev. J. Hubbard. [1]
    • Loved by a Maori Chieftess (title of a 1913 film from New Zealand)

References

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