cacique

Thân thiện

A bright cacique perches on a branch in the tropical forest.

Definition

Noun: 1. A type of oriole: A tropical American bird of the genus Cacicus, known for its striking black plumage combined with red or yellow markings. 2. A local political boss or leader: (Chiefly in Latin America or Spain) A person who exercises significant, often autocratic, power in a particular area or organization.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Bird):
  • We spotted a vibrant cacique with brilliant yellow epaulets building its long, hanging nest.
  • The call of the yellow-rumped cacique is a distinctive part of the rainforest soundscape.
• Noun (Person):
  • The local cacique controlled all business and political appointments in the region.
  • The party's power depended on the support of rural caciques.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term originates from the Taíno word for a pre-Columbian tribal chief in the Caribbean and Latin America. Its modern political usage often carries connotations of patronage, clientelism, and sometimes corruption.
• Figurative Use: It can be used figuratively to describe any person who wields disproportionate, boss-like influence within a smaller sphere.
  • He was the undisputed cacique of the university's history department.

Variants and Related Words

• Caciquism (noun): The political system or practice dominated by caciques.
  • The country struggled to move away from the old traditions of caciquism.

Synonyms

• For the bird: Oriole, blackbird (in the Icteridae family).
• For the person: Boss, chieftain, strongman, political boss, local leader, magnate, overlord.

Related Idioms or Phrases

• Cacique democracy: A political science term describing a democratic system where real power is held by local bosses or oligarchs rather than through fair, institutional processes.
  • Analysts described the nation's politics as a form of cacique democracy.

Học thuật

Noun

1. black-and-red or black-and-yellow orioles of the American tropics

Từ đồng nghĩa

• cazique