1828 Webster's Dictionary
CHIEF,
adjective
[
Fr. chef, the head, that is, the top or highest point:
Norm. chief;
Sp. xefe;
Ir. ceap;
It. capo...]
1. Highest in office or rank; principal; as a
chief priest; the
chief butler..
Genesis 40:9.
Among the
chief rulers, many believed on him.
John 12:10.
2. Principal or most eminent, in any quality or action; most distinguished; having most influence; commanding most respect; taking the lead; most valuable; most important; a word of extensive use; as a country
chief in arms.
The hand of the princes and rulers hath been
chief in this trespass.
Ezra 9:2.
Agriculture is the
chief employment of men.
3. First in affection; most dear and familiar.
A whisperer separateth
chief friends.
Proverbs 16:28.
CHIEF,
noun
1. A commander; particularly a military commander; the person who heads an army; equivalent to the modern terms, commander or general in
chief captain general, or generalissimo.
1 Chronicles 11:6.
2. The principal person of a tribe, family, or congregation, etc.
Numbers 3:24.
Job 29:25. Math. 20.
3. In
chief in English law, in capite. To hold land in
chief is to hold it directly from the king by honorable personal services.
4. In heraldry,
chief signifies the head or upper part of the escutcheon, from side to side, representing a mans head. In
chief imports something borne in this part.
5. In Spenser, it seems to signify something like achievement, a mark of distinction; as, chaplets wrought with a
chief
6. This word is often used, in the singular number, to express a plurality.
I took the
chief of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them heads over you.
Deuteronomy 1:15.
These were the
chief of the officers, that were over Solomons work.
1 Kings 9:23.
In these phrases,
chief may have been primarily an adjective, that is,
chief men,
chief persons.
7. The principal part; the most or largest part, of one thing or of many.
The people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the
chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed.
1 Samuel 15:21.
He smote the
chief of their strength.
Psalms 68:1.
The
chief of the debt remains unpaid.
CHIEF,
adverb Chiefly.
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