[proh-vohst, prov-uh
st or, especially in military usage, proh-voh] 
| 1. | a person appointed to superintend or preside. |
| 2. | an administrative officer in any of various colleges and universities who holds high rank and is concerned with the curriculum, faculty appointments, etc. |
| 3. | Ecclesiastical. the chief dignitary of a cathedral or collegiate church. |
| 4. | the steward or bailiff of a medieval manor or an officer of a medieval administrative district. |
| 5. | the mayor of a municipality in Scotland. |
| 6. | Obsolete. a prison warden. |
| pro·vost (prō'vōst', -vəst, prŏv'əst) n. Abbr. Prov.
[Middle English, from Old English profost and Old French provost, both from Medieval Latin prōpositus, alteration of Latin praepositus, person placed over others, superintendent, from past participle of praepōnere, to place over : prae-, pre- + pōnere, to put; see apo- in Indo-European roots.] |
provost
in French law, an inferior royal judge under the ancien regime, who, during the later Middle Ages, often served as an administrator of the domain. The position appears to date from the 11th century, when the Capetian dynasty of kings sought a means to render justice within their realm and to subject their vassals to royal control
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