Playful Arab chief
I believe the answer is:
arch
'playful' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'arab chief' is the wordplay.
'arab' becomes 'ar' (abbreviation in reference works).
'chief' becomes 'ch' (abbreviation).
'ar'+'ch'='ARCH'
(Other definitions for arch that I've seen before include "Affectedly playful like senior angel" , "Annoyingly playful" , "Chief - opening with curved top" , "spanner" , "Structure with a keystone" .)