Definition of "headman" []

• The chief man especially of a tribal or traditional village. (noun)
• A headsman. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Now the murder of a native government headman is a serious matter in those parts."
• "And whereas in Taiwan the cabessas were selected by the Chinese community itself, in Batavia the headman was appointed by the company. 23 His job was to act as a representative of the Chinese population in discussions with the Dutch leadership in Batavia, to execute the company's instructions among the Chinese community, and to administer justice among the Chinese."
• "He also made him a present of an oldish horse which he had got; he had heard that the headman was a priest of the sun, and so he could fatten up the beast and sacrifice him; otherwise he was afraid it might die outright, for it had been injured by the long marching."