The person in charge; a leader or boss, especially the main person responsible for something.
From Japanese 'hanchō' meaning squad leader or group leader (from 'han' = group and 'chō' = chief). Adopted into English during the post-WWII occupation of Japan when American soldiers learned the term from Japanese organizations.
American soldiers brought 'honcho' back from Japan after World War II, and now it's so thoroughly English that most people forget it's a Japanese word—it shows how military encounters spread words across the world!
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