chiefdom

[ cheef-duhm ]

noun

1. the rank or office of a chief.
2. the territory or people over which a chief rules.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chiefdom¹

First recorded in 1570–80; chief + -dom

Example Sentences

Mapela said that militants attacked Mesa, Cepac and Aumopro churches located near the shore of Lake Albert in the Bahema-Nord chiefdom.

From Reuters

The victims, along with five others killed in a July 29 attack in the same chiefdom of Walese-Vilonkutu, have yet to be properly buried, Munyanderu said.

From Washington Times

Maki Lombe, a resident of the Bahema-Nord chiefdom, said he had seen “more than 40 bodies” lying on the ground.

From New York Times

Archaeologists believe Tequesta, which straddled both banks of the Miami River, became the capital of a chiefdom that stretched across southeast Florida from roughly 500 B.C.E. to the 1500s C.E.

From Science Magazine

Under the Piscataway chiefdom, other tribes — including the Yaocomico, Mattawoman, Pamunkey, Mattaponi and Nanjemoy — were interconnected with their own systems of justice, governing and defending themselves.

From Washington Post