Adjacent Words

Alderman definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ALD'ERMAN, n. plu. Aldermen.
1. Among our Saxon ancestors, a senior or superior. The title was applied to princes, dukes, earls, senators and presiding magistrates; also to archbishops and bishops, implying superior wisdom or authority. Thus, Ethelstan, duke of the East-Anglians, was called alderman of all England; and there were aldermen of cities, counties, and castles, who had jurisdiction within their respective districts.
2. In present usage, a magistrate or officer of a town corporate, next in rank below the mayor. The number of aldermen is different in different cities. In London the number is twenty-six, one in each ward, and the office is held for life.
In the United States, the number of aldermen depends on the charters of incorporation. In general, aldermen have the powers of a justice of the peace, and with the mayor, they constitute the court of the corporation. In most of our cities, they are annually elected by the citizens.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a member of a municipal legislative body (as a city council); "aldermen usually represent city wards"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ealdorman, from ealdor parent (from eald old) + man — more at old Date: before 12th century 1. a person governing a kingdom, district, or shire as viceroy for an Anglo-Saxon king 2. a. a magistrate formerly ranking next below the mayor in an English or Irish city or borough b. a high-ranking member of a borough or county council in Ireland or formerly in England chosen by elected members 3. a member of a city legislative body • aldermanic adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -men) 1 esp. hist. a co-opted member of an English county or borough council, next in dignity to the Mayor. 2 US & Austral. the elected governor of a city. Derivatives: aldermanic adj. aldermanship n. Etymology: OE aldor patriarch f. ald old + MAN

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Alderman Al"der*man ([add]l"d[~e]r*man), n.; pl. Aldermen. [AS. aldormon, ealdorman; ealdor an elder + man. See Elder, n.] 1. A senior or superior; a person of rank or dignity. [Obs.] Note: The title was applied, among the Anglo-Saxons, to princes, dukes, earls, senators, and presiding magistrates; also to archbishops and bishops, implying superior wisdom or authority. Thus Ethelstan, duke of the East-Anglians, was called Alderman of all England; and there were aldermen of cities, counties, and castles, who had jurisdiction within their respective districts. 3. One of a board or body of municipal officers next in order to the mayor and having a legislative function. They may, in some cases, individually exercise some magisterial and administrative functions.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(aldermen) 1. In some parts of the United States and Canada, an alderman is a member of the governing body of a city. N-COUNT; N-TITLE 2. Until 1974 in England and Wales, an alderman was a senior member of a local council who was elected by other councillors. N-COUNT; N-TITLE

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A roasted turkey garnished with sausages; the latter are supposed to represent the gold chain worn by those magistrates.

Foolish Dictionary

A political office known as the Crook's Road to Wealth. From Eng. all, and Greek derma, meaning skin--"all skin."

Moby Thesaurus

MP, Member of Congress, Member of Parliament, archon, assemblyman, bailie, burghermaster, burgomaster, cabinet member, cabinet minister, chancellor, chosen freeholder, city councilman, city father, city manager, commissar, commissioner, congressman, congresswoman, councillor, councilman, councilwoman, county commissioner, county supervisor, elder, floor leader, headman, induna, lawgiver, lawmaker, legislator, lord mayor, magistrate, maire, majority leader, mayor, minister, minister of state, minority leader, party whip, portreeve, reeve, representative, secretary, secretary of state, selectman, senator, solon, state senator, supervisor, syndic, undersecretary, warden, whip