chiefdom

[ cheef-duhm ]

noun

1. the rank or office of a chief.
2. the territory or people over which a chief rules.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chiefdom¹

First recorded in 1570–80; chief + -dom

Example Sentences

Spanish historical accounts mistakenly assumed that powerful chiefs ran Indigenous communities in what have become known as chiefdoms.

From Science News

Suffice it to say, their mythology rather mirrored this vast scope, with various tribes, chiefdoms, and even later kingdoms having their own set of folklore and pantheons.

From Realm of History

Just from looking at that, you can get a rough sense that even by stringent criteria, these societies, that are about chiefdom level, not hunter-gatherers, will have some of these kinds of moralizing gods.

From Nautilus

Opechancanough could not save his people or his chiefdom from the sheer numbers of arrivals who flooded into the colony during the 1630s and 1640s.

From Time

Then an agricultural revolution about 12,000 years ago fueled population growth and the emergence of tribes, then chiefdoms and eventually bureaucratic states.

From Science News

For thee, free pardon and reinstatement in thy principality—yet is it not to be a kingdom, only as a great chiefdom.

From Project Gutenberg

Candidates for the chiefdom had to show their fitness, and "a young lord's first spoil" was a necessary exploit.

From Project Gutenberg

It should be the largest and most magnificent of all the Indian head-dresses, as it is the insignia of chiefdom.

From Project Gutenberg

His love for his wife was an insane love—it far outdid his love for his chiefdom.

From Project Gutenberg

Sebituane's successor in the chiefdom was his daughter, Ma-mochisane.

From Project Gutenberg