Chief

(che ef.) [Fr. chef, from Gr. kepha-le.] (Her.) One of the honorable ordinaries which occupies the upper part of the escutcheon. As the head is the chief part of a man, so is the C. the principal part of the escutcheon: it contains a third part of the field. In chief, denotes a figure to be borne on the chief; as, a martlet in chief. [s. 175]