The rank, office, or authority of a chieftain; the position of being a chief or leader of a tribe or clan.
From 'chieftain' (Old French chevetain) plus '-ship' (Old English -sciepe), a suffix creating nouns of rank, status, or office. This suffix appears in 'friendship,' 'leadership,' 'kingship,' and 'membership'.
The '-ship' suffix is absolutely magical because it transforms almost any role into an official position—'friend' becomes 'friendship,' implying a formal relationship, or 'scholar' becomes 'scholarship,' implying expertise and status, making English remarkably efficient at upgrading ordinary words into concepts of authority.
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