Chieflings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Minor leaders of small tribes or communities who hold limited authority beneath a higher chief or king
2. Lesser tribal rulers with modest power and territory, subordinate to a more powerful overlord
3. Petty chieftains who govern small groups of people and answer to a greater ruler

Etymology: "Chieflings" is the plural of "chiefling", a word built from "chief" and the diminutive suffix "-ling", the same ending found in "duckling" and "darkling". The suffix attaches to a base word to name something small, young, or lesser in kind, so a chiefling is a minor or lesser chief, or a petty leader of some kind. The word also has two near-twins in English, "chefling" and "headling", which share its sense and its formation. Lexicographers describe the three as doublets, words that arose from the same source but took different shapes along the way, and "chiefling" is the form that survived with the spelling of "chief" itself. The plural "chieflings" simply applies the regular rule of adding "-s" to a noun, so the word's history is that of the singular.