sachem

[ sey-chuhm ]

noun

1. (among some North American Indians)
   1. the chief of a tribe.
   2. the chief of a confederation.
2. a member of the governing body of the League of the Iroquois.
3. one of the high officials in the Tammany Society.
4. Slang. a political party leader.

sachem

/ seɪˈtʃɛmɪk; ˈseɪtʃəm; ˈseɪtʃə- /

noun

1. a leader of a political party or organization, esp of Tammany Hall
2. another name for sagamore

Derived Forms

• sachemic, adjective

Other Words From

• sachem·dom noun
• sa·chem·ic [sey-, chem, -ik, sey, -ch, uh, -mik], adjective
• sachem·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sachem¹

First recorded in 1615–25, Americanism; from southeastern New England Algonquian (compare Narragansett ( English spelling) sâchim, saunchum, Massachusett sontim ), from unattested Proto-Algonquian sa˙kima˙wa; sagamore

Word History and Origins

Origin of sachem¹

C17: from Narraganset sǎchim chief

Example Sentences

Or Opeka, a Shawnee sachem who shrewdly negotiated with the governor of Pennsylvania in 1710 to spare the lives of his people accused of killing colonists?

From New York Times

As the late Times food sachem Jonathan Gold wrote, it is “sneakily alcoholic.”

From Los Angeles Times

In the 1600s, they lived in 69 villages, each with a chief, or sachem, and a medicine man.

From Seattle Times

The sachems of the European Handball Federation were scandalized.

From Washington Post

“They blatantly fooled the whole entire country about this land belonging to them,” said Larry Fisher, who has been working to revive the tribe since becoming its chief sachem in 2014, of the Mashpees.

From Seattle Times