The position, authority, or domain of a chieftain; the rank and territory controlled by a chieftain.
From 'chieftain' (which comes from Old French 'chief' plus Latin '-ain') plus the suffix '-cy,' which creates nouns describing positions of authority (like 'presidency,' 'regency'). Commonly used in historical and anthropological writing.
In academic writing about non-Western societies, 'chieftaincy' is the preferred term over 'chiefdom' because it specifically emphasizes the position and authority of an individual leader rather than just the territory they control.
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