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sachem

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sa⋅chem

  [sey-chuhm]
Use sachem in a Sentence
–noun
1. (among some North American Indians)
a. the chief of a tribe.
b. the chief of a confederation.
2. a member of the governing body of the League of the Iroquois.
3. one of the high officials in the Tammany Society.
4. Slang. a political party leader.
Origin:
1615–25, Americanism; < southeastern New England Algonquian (cf. Narragansett (E sp.) sâchim, saunchum, Massachusett sontim) < Proto-Algonquian *sa˙kima˙wa; cf. sagamore

Related forms:
sa⋅chem⋅dom, noun
sa⋅chem⋅ic  [sey-chem-ik, sey-chuh-mik] , adjective
sa⋅chem⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sa·chem   (sā'chəm)   
n.  

    1. A chief of a Native American tribe or confederation, especially an Algonquian chief.

    2. A member of the ruling council of the Iroquois confederacy.

  2. A high official of the Tammany Society, a political organization in New York City.


[Of Massachusett origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

sachem 
chief of an Amer. Indian tribe, 1622, from Algonquian (Narragansett) sachimau "chief, ruler," cognate with Abnaki sangman, Delaware sakima, Micmac sakumow, Penobscot sagumo (source of sagamore, 1613). Applied jocularly to a prominent member of any society from 1684; specific political use in U.S. is from 1890, from its use as the title of the 12 high officials of the Tammany Society of New York.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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