Where does “chiefly” come from?
Chiefly comes from Middle English chefly, formed from Middle English chief plus the Old English adverbial suffix -līċ, ultimately from Latin caput meaning "head," tracing back through Proto-Indo-European kauput- and kapōlo.
chiefly (English): Especially or primarily; above all; Mainly or...
Definitions
- Especially or primarily; above all; Mainly or...
Ancestry of “chiefly”, step by step
chiefly traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English chief
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | chief | A leader or head of a group of people,... |
| 2 | Middle English | chef | A leader, boss, or director; a chief official;... |
| 3 | Old French | chief | head; leader, chief; front |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | capum | head, chief; head |
| 5 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |