† chiefnessn.
Obsolete.
The chief quality; supremacy, superiority.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [noun] > supreme authority
sovereigntyc1374
thronea1382
chiefnessc1420
superiority1449
suzeraintyc1470
sovereignness1532
supremity1536
supremacy1547
monarchy1585
autocracy1659
paramountcy1667
sovranty1667
paramountship1735
sovereignship1817
eminent domain1850
overmastery1901
c1420 Chron. Vilod. 403 Þen ony state gretter nowherellys to bere, Of cheffenesse or of heyȝe governyng.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) i. 18 The first..was accounted the Principall, but..their chiefnesse was Penes Regis Arbitrium.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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n.c1420