chiefdom

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
chief/tʃiːf/

▶noun

• 1 a leader or ruler of a people.

  ■ the head of an organization.

• 2 Heraldry an ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across the top of the shield.

  ■ the upper third of the field.

▶adjective

• 1 having the highest rank or authority.

• 2 most important: the chief reason.

– derivatives
chiefdom noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. chief, chef, based on L. caput ‘head’.