overchief

From over- +‎ chief. Piecewise doublet of overhead.

overchief (plural overchiefs)

1. A higher-ranking chief; a leader of several chiefs.
   • 1929, P. O. Bodding, Santal Folk Tales, Volume 3‎^[1], Williams & Norgate Limited, page 281:

     All classes are mentioned, village headmen, overchiefs, tenants and countryheadmen. These last ones are something between a village headman and an overchief.

   • 1955, Algis Budrys, Astounding Science Fiction‎^[2], Atlas Publishing & Distributing Company Limited, page 15:

     The Overchief gestured toward a bench, and Demaris sat down, quietly watching the Overchief stalk back and forth behind his desk. The first actual contact with the head of an alien culture was usually the most ticklish part of one of these things. But, again, as usual, it seemed to be going smoothly.

   • 1987, Katharine Mary Briggs, Kate Crackernuts‎^[3], Canongate Kelpies, →ISBN, page 206:

     ‘It’s not a matter,’ he said in a low voice, but steadily, ‘that a man likes to tell another man about his wife, but it seems your lady had a spite against Katherine, and she was overchief with the witchwives, and practised with them against her life or her reason. And when Kate saw there was no other way to protect her they flitted across the sea. And Mall Gross followed them with some contrivance against their boat, but it was her own boat that sank, and the fisher folk have it that Lady Grizel was in it with her. I kenna how that may be, but there’s none that saw her after that hour, and her body was brought up in the salmon nets two days after.’