The superlative form of chief; most important, most prominent, or highest in rank or authority.
Formed by adding the superlative suffix '-est' to 'chief.' While 'chief' as an adjective traditionally used '-est' for the superlative, modern English increasingly uses 'most chief' instead.
Shakespeare used 'chiefest' freely in his plays ('the chiefest joys'), but modern English has mostly abandoned '-est' endings for longer adjectives in favor of 'most'—a shift that makes 'chiefest' sound Shakespearean and archaic to our ears.
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