cacique

American  

[kuh-seek] / kəˈsik /

noun

1. a chief of an Indian clan or tribe in Mexico and the West Indies.

2. (in Spain and Latin America) a political boss on a local level.

3. (in the Philippines) a prominent landowner.

4. any of several black and red or black and yellow orioles of the American tropics that construct long, pendent nests.

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cacique British  

/ kəˈsiːk, kəˈziːk /

noun

1. a Native American chief in a Spanish-speaking region

2. (esp in Spanish America) a local political boss

3. any of various tropical American songbirds of the genus Cacicus and related genera: family Icteridae (American orioles)

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Etymology

Origin of cacique

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish, from Taíno (Hispaniola)

Example Sentences

“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