Chief and Chef Are the Same French Word
A chief is a leader. The word means head in French, and English borrowed it twice, once as chief and once as chef.
A chief is a leader, and as an adjective it means principal. It is French *chef*, meaning head, borrowed into English in the Middle Ages. English later borrowed the same word a second time, in its modern French pronunciation, for the head of a kitchen — the full phrase was *chef de cuisine*, head of the kitchen. So chief and chef are the same word arriving five centuries apart. The Latin root *caput*, head, also gives *captain*, *capital* and *cape*.
- A leader. *The chief of police.*
- Principal. *The chief reason.*
- Chef — the same word, borrowed later. *The head chef.*
- Chiefly — mainly. *Chiefly because of cost.*
- Chieftain — a clan or tribal leader. *A Highland chieftain.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | chief | The chief. |
| Plural | chiefs | Two chiefs. |
| Adjective | chief | The chief cause. |
| Adverb | chiefly | Chiefly rural. |
| Latin | caput | Head. |
- The chief executive resigned.Title.
- Cost was the chief objection.Adjective.
- Chef de cuisine means head of the kitchen.Etymology.
The caput family
- Chief and chef — the same French word, borrowed twice
- Captain — from *capitaneus*, a head man
- Capital — the chief city, and the chief sum of money
- Cape — a headland jutting into the sea
- Chapter — from *capitulum*, a little head or heading
Old French *chief*, head or leader, from Latin *caput*, head. The kitchen sense entered English in the 1800s as a fresh borrowing of the modern French *chef*.
Are chief and chef the same word?
Yes. English borrowed French chef twice: once in the Middle Ages as chief, and again in the 1800s as chef for a head cook.
What does chief mean as an adjective?
Principal or most important, as in the chief reason or the chief difficulty.