mayor
nouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈmɛə̯//
- United States//ˈmeɪ̯.ɚ//
- //ˈmɛɚ//
- //ˈmɛɹ//
The chief executive of the municipal government of a city, borough, etc., formerly (historical) usually appointed as a caretaker by European royal courts but now usually appointed or elected locally.
noun
- 1
The chief executive of the municipal government of a city, borough, etc., formerly (historical) usually appointed as a caretaker by European royal courts but now usually appointed or elected locally.
The office of mayor has been the tomb of many political ambitions.
When the burdens of the Presidency seem unusually heavy, I always remind myself that it could be worse—I could be a mayor of a city instead.
While Buckley would later privately describe Chicago's Mayor Daley as a Fascist, he was not willing to let Vidal use the police to vindicate the demonstrators, who, in Buckley's mind, had provoked much of the violence.
Quimby: I propose that I use what's left of the town treasury to move to a more prosperous town and run for mayor and once selected I will send for the rest of you. All: Boo!
- 2
historicalSynonym of mair, various former officials in the Kingdom of Scotland.
- 3
obsoleteA member of a city council.
- 4
historicalA high justice, an important judge.
- 5
A largely ceremonial position in some municipal governments that presides over the city council while a contracted city manager holds actual executive power.
- 6
figurativeA local VIP, a muckamuck or big shot reckoned to lead some local group.
In some parts the burlesque civic official was designated ‘Mayor of the Pig Market’.
The Mayor of Castro Street, that was Harvey's unofficial title.
- 7
Variant of mayor of the palacehistoricalEllipsis of mayor of the palace, the royal stewards of the Frankish Empire.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Indo-European *méǵyōs Proto-Italic *majjōs Latin maior Old French mairebor. Middle English maire English mayor From Middle English maire, from Old French maire (“head of a city or town government”), a substantivation of Old French maire (“greater”), from Latin maior (“bigger, greater, superior”), comparative of magnus (“big, great”). Doublet of major. Cognate with Old High German meior (“estate manager, steward, bailiff”) (modern German Meier), Middle Dutch meier (“administrator, steward, bailiff”) (modern Dutch meier). Displaced Old English burgealdor (“a ruler of a city, mayor, citizen”), burhġerēfa (“boroughreeve”), and portġerēfa (“portreeve”).
Forms
- plural
- mayors
mayor · The chief executive of the municipal government of a city, borough, etc., formerly (historical) usually appointed as a caretaker by European royal…
Mayor · A surname from Anglo-Norman.maze · A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of…Maze · A surname.