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.
“Belo Monte tirou o nosso rio e foi como tirar o nosso sangue”, diz Giliarde Juruna, cacique da aldeia Muratu.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 5, 2023
Dos vaqueros llegan a un pueblo abandonado debido a las inundaciones, pero descubren que todo es culpa de un cacique.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2019
“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
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
