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aldermanship

 - 4 dictionary results

al⋅der⋅man

  [awl-der-muhn]
Use aldermanship in a Sentence
–noun, plural -men.
1. a member of a municipal legislative body, esp. of a municipal council.
2. (in England) one of the members, chosen by the elected councilors, in a borough or county council.
3. Early English History.
a. a chief.
b. (later) the chief magistrate of a county or group of counties.
4. Northern U.S. Slang. a pot belly.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE (e)aldormann, equiv. to ealdor chief, patriarch (eald old + -or n. suffix) + mann man 1

Related forms:
al⋅der⋅man⋅cy, al⋅der⋅man⋅ship, noun
al⋅der⋅man⋅ic  [awl-der-man-ik] , adjective

Usage note:
See -man.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Cultural Dictionary

alderman [(awl-duhr-muhn)]

A member of a city council. Aldermen usually represent city districts, called wards, and work with the mayor to run the city government. Jockeying among aldermen for political influence is often associated with machine politics.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

alderman 
O.E. aldormonn (Mercian), ealdormann (W.Saxon), from aldor, ealder "patriarch" (comparative of ald "old") + monn, mann "man." A relic of the days when the elders were automatically in charge of the clan or tribe, but already in O.E. used for king's viceroys, regardless of age. The word yielded in O.E. to eorl, and after the Norman Conquest to count (n.). Meaning "headman of a guild" (1130) passed to "magistrate of a city" (c.1200) as the guilds became identified with municipal government.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: al·der·man
Pronunciation: 'ol-d&r-m&n
Function: noun
: a member of a city legislative body
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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