sachem

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sa·chem

 (sā′chəm)
n.
1.
a. A chief of a Native American tribe or confederation, especially an Algonquian chief.
b. 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.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sachem

(ˈseɪtʃəm)
n
1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) US a leader of a political party or organization, esp of Tammany Hall
2. (Anthropology & Ethnology) another name for sagamore
[C17: from Narraganset sǎchim chief]
sachemic adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sa•chem

(ˈseɪ tʃəm)

n.
1. (among some North American Indians) the chief of a tribe or confederation.
2. one of the high officials in the Tammany Society.
[1615–25, Amer.; < SE New England Algonquian < Proto-Algonquian *sa·kima·wa]
sa•chem′ic (-ˈtʃɛm ɪk) adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.sachem - a political leader (especially of Tammany Hall)
pol, political leader, politico, politician - a person active in party politics
2.sachem - a chief of a North American tribe or confederation (especially an Algonquian chief)
Indian chief, Indian chieftain - the leader of a group of Native Americans
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in classic literature ?
I know that they claim not only to have the earth, but that the meanest of their color is better than the Sachems of the red man.
That worthy sachem landed in princely state, arrayed in a bright blue blanket and red breech clout, with an extra quantity of paint and feathers, attended by a train of half-naked warriors and nobles.
Sassacus, their sachem, fled to another tribe, after his own people were defeated; but he was murdered by them, and his head was sent to his English enemies.
I made inquiries whether, in his researches about these parts, our mineralogist had found the three 'Silver Hills' which an Indian sachem sold to an Englishman nearly two hundred years ago, and the treasure of which the posterity of the purchaser have been looking for ever since.
Planted with their broad ends on the deck, a circle of these slabs laced together, mutually sloped towards each other, and at the apex united in a tufted point, where the loose hairy fibres waved to and fro like a top-knot on some old Pottowotamie Sachem's head.
“He is a genteel savage; but let us go down, and give the sachem his tea; for I suppose he is a descendant of King Philip, if not a grandson of Pocahontas.”
I have seen the head of an old sachem of the forest which at once reminded the eye of a bald mountain summit, and the furrows of the brow suggested the strata of the rock.
"Government has decided to abandoned these schemes and redesign all these development sachems according to the guidelines of the planning commission," he said.
Her book also offers new evidence that Nipmuc and Narragansett sachems may have been negotiating with Massachusetts for a peaceful settlement just as Connecticut forces conducted viciously effective attacks on Indigenous communities.
Among the ongoing sachems, a total of Rs 50 million has been allocated for capacity building in Design Assessment and Analysis to Ensure Safety of Advance Nuclear Power Plants, Rs 180 million for establishment of National Radiological Emergency Coordination Centre and Rs 56.530 million has been allocated for PNRA Residential Colony at Chashma District Mianwali, Kundian.
The others are the Mohegan of Connecticut from whom Cooper borrowed the name of one of their 17th century sachems (chiefs) Uncas, to become a central character of his saga.
This happened, for instance, when Narragansett sachems duplicated land claims based on government-approved treaties made by dissenters Roger Williams and Samuel Groton.