Chief vs. Cheif - What's the difference?

1. Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin *capum (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap (“head covering”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head).

2. Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃiːf/
• Rhymes: -iːf

3. Noun

chief (plural chiefs)

1. A leader or head of a group of people, organisation, etc. [from 13th c.]
   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 4:

     My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom.

   All firefighters report to the fire chief.

2. (heraldry) The top part of a shield or escutcheon. [from 15th c.]
   • 1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:

     When the Chief is Charged with any figure, in blazon it is said to be "On a Chief".

3. An informal address to an equal.

   Hey, chief.

3.1. Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:boss

3.2. Derived terms

Look at pages starting with chief.

3.3. Related terms

• captain
• chef
• chieftain

4. Adjective

chief (comparative chiefer or more chief, superlative chiefest or most chief)

1. Primary; principal.

5. Verb

chief (third-person singular simple present chiefs, present participle chiefing, simple past and past participle chiefed)

1. (US, slang) To smoke cannabis.
   • 2012, Marquis "Cream" Cureton, When the Smoke Clears (page 268)

     He chiefed on the bud like a pro, taking long deep hits and holding it within until he had inhaled as much of the weed smoke as he could.

6. See also

• chiefest (superlative)
• chef

7. Anagrams

• cheif, fiche, fiché

1. Noun

cheif (plural cheifs)

1. Obsolete spelling of chief.

2. Anagrams

• chief, fiche, fiché