chiefdom
noun
chiefdom is spelled C-H-I-E-F-D-O-M: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 110,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chiefdom means “The role or status of chief” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chiefdom is chiefdoms.
How many letters and syllables are in chiefdom?
| Letters | 8: C-H-I-E-F-D-O-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 110,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is chiefdom?
Chiefdom appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 110,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce chiefdom?
Chiefdom has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-chiefdom.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of chiefdom
- chiefdoms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chiefdom mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The role or status of chief.
the privileges of chiefdom
- 2
An area or region governed by a chief.
- 3
A society larger than a tribe, but smaller or simpler than a state.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chiefdom in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense area or region governed by a chief:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chefferie |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does chiefdom come from?
From chief + -dom. Piecewise doublet of chefdom.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).