A whisperer separateth chief friends.
Prov. xvi. 28.
Syn. -- Principal; head; leading; main; paramount; supreme; prime; vital; especial; great; grand; eminent; master.
Chief"age (-&asl;j), n. [OF. chevage, fr. chief head. See Chief.] A tribute by the head; a capitation tax. [Written also chevage and chivage.] [Obs.]
Chief" bar"on (?). (Eng. Law) The presiding judge of the court of exchequer.
Chief"est, a. [Superl. of Chief.] First or foremost; chief; principal. [Archaic] "Our chiefest courtier." Shak.
The chiefest among ten thousand.
Canticles v. 10.
Chief" hare` (?). (Zo÷l.) A small rodent (Lagamys princeps) inhabiting the summits of the Rocky Mountains; -- also called crying hare, calling hare, cony, American pika, and little chief hare.
&fist; It is not a true hare or rabbit, but belongs to the curious family LagomyidŠ.
Chief" jus"tice (?). The presiding justice, or principal judge, of a court.
Lord Chief Justice of England, The presiding judge of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice. The highest judicial officer of the realm is the Lord High Chancellor. -- Chief Justice of the United States, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court, and Highest judicial officer of the republic.
Chief"-jus"tice*ship, n. The office of chief justice.
Jay selected the chief-justiceship as most in accordance with his tastes.
The Century.
Chief"less (?), a. Without a chief or leader.
Chief"ly (?), adv. 1. In the first place; principally; preŰminently; above; especially.
Search through this garden; leave unsearched no nook;
But chiefly where those two fair creatures lodge.
Milton.