cacique
Americannoun
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a chief of an Indian clan or tribe in Mexico and the West Indies.
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(in Spain and Latin America) a political boss on a local level.
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(in the Philippines) a prominent landowner.
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any of several black and red or black and yellow orioles of the American tropics that construct long, pendent nests.
noun
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a Native American chief in a Spanish-speaking region
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(esp in Spanish America) a local political boss
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any of various tropical American songbirds of the genus Cacicus and related genera: family Icteridae (American orioles)
Etymology
Origin of cacique
First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish, from Taíno (Hispaniola)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“They should respect our culture,” the cacique insisted.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 2, 2019
The family sat before an altar of saints, melted wax and the bust of a cacique, an indigenous tribal chief.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 12, 2019
At the indigenous village of Santa Rosa de Huacaria, near Villa Carmen, the community’s cacique, Don Alberto, gave me a tour of the fish farm and fish hatchery that Amazon Conservation has helped it develop.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 30, 2015
"Why have they destroyed this?" one cacique asked.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2014
He is longboned and loose-jointed, over six feet, with the angular face of a cacique and a handsome nose somewhat swollen at the base.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
