/ˈmɛə/, /ˈmeɪ.ə/, /ˈmeɪ.əɹ/
OriginFrom 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”).
- 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 muc”
- abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, historicalEllipsis of mayor of the palace, the royal stewards of the Frankish Empire.
- historicalSynonym of mair, various former officials in the Kingdom of Scotland.
- Ireland, obsolete, rareA member of a city council.
- historical, obsoleteA high justice, an important judge.
- USA largely ceremonial position in some municipal governments that presides over the city council while a contracted city manager holds actual executive power.
- figuratively, humorousA 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.”
- A surname from Anglo-Norman.
Formsmayors(plural) · maiere(alternative, obsolete) · maieur(alternative, obsolete) · mar(alternative, obsolete) · mayere(alternative, obsolete) · meer(alternative, obsolete) · mehir(alternative, obsolete) · meir(alternative, obsolete) · meire(alternative, obsolete) · mer(alternative, obsolete) · mere(alternative, obsolete) · meyhir(alternative, obsolete) · meyr(alternative, obsolete) · maier(alternative, obsolete) · mayer(alternative, obsolete) · mayr(alternative, obsolete) · meyer(alternative, obsolete) · meyre(alternative, obsolete) · maiour(alternative, obsolete) · mair(alternative, obsolete)