a graded social group led by a chief whose position the chief usually accedes to
the chiefdom, a form of political organization strikingly different in several basicrespects from the tribal polity
2.
the region ruled by a chief
3.
the office or position of a chief
chiefdom in American English
(ˈtʃifdəm)
noun
1.
the rank or office of a chief
2.
the territory or people over which a chief rules
Word origin
[1570–80; chief + -dom]This word is first recorded in the period 1570–80. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cartridge, duster, pigeonhole, repeater, split-dom is a suffix forming nouns which refer to domain (kingdom), collection of persons (officialdom), rank or station (earldom), or general condition (freedom)
Examples of 'chiefdom' in a sentence
chiefdom
Current research became open to discussing the meaning ofconcepts like "food production", "chiefdom" or "territory".
Luiz Oosterbeek 2004, 'Archaeographic and conceptual advances in interpreting Iberian Neolithisation', Documenta Praehistoricahttps://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/2183. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Fifty-nine chiefdoms and one school in every chiefdom were selected.
Sonnie Mustapha, Nyorkor Emanuel, Paye Jusufu, Wamsley Anna, Dada Nsa, Hodges Mary,Barnish Guy, Bockarie Moses, Zhang Yaobi 2011, 'Improved mapping strategy to better inform policy on the control of schistosomiasisand soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Sierra Leone', Parasites & Vectorshttp://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/4/1/97. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)