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Sachem

2 stages from Narragansett to English.

Today it means a chief of a Native American tribe or confederation, especially in the northeast
1
Stage 1 of 2
sachem
Narragansett · 1600s
"a paramount chief"
the paramount chief of a tribe or confederation of tribes
2
Stage 2 of 2
sachem
English · 1620s
"a Native American tribal chief"
adopted directly by English colonists describing Algonquian leadership
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