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Definition of provost - 5 dictionary results

pro⋅vost

  [proh-vohst, prov-uhst or, especially in military usage, proh-voh]
Use provost in a Sentence
–noun
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.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE profost < ML prōpositus abbot, prior, provost, lit., (one) placed before, L: ptp. of prōpōnere. See pro- 1 , posit

Related forms:
pro⋅vost⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·vost   (prō'vōst', -vəst, prŏv'əst)   
n.   Abbr. Prov.
  1. A university administrator of high rank.
  2. The highest official in certain cathedrals or collegiate churches.
  3. The keeper of a prison.
  4. The chief magistrate of certain Scottish cities.

[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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Provost

Prov"ost\, n. [OF. provost (L. prae and pro being confused), F. prev[^o]t, fr. L. praepositus placed before, a chief, fr. praeponere to place before: cf. AS. pr[=a]fost, pr[=o]fast. See Preposition, and cf. Propound.]

1. A person who is appointed to superintend, or preside over, something; the chief magistrate in some cities and towns; as, the provost of Edinburgh or of Glasgow, answering to the mayor of other cities; the provost of a college, answering to president; the provost or head of certain collegiate churches.

2. The keeper of a prison. [Obs.] --Shak.

Note: In France, formerly, a provost was an inferior judge who had cognizance of civil causes. The grand provost of France, or of the household, had jurisdiction in the king's house, and over its officers.

Provost marshal (often pronounced ?). (a) (Mil.) An officer appointed in every army, in the field, to secure the prisoners confined on charges of a general nature. He also performs such other duties pertaining to police and discipline as the regulations of the service or the commander's orders impose upon him. (b) (Nav.) An officer who has charge of prisoners on trial by court-martial, serves notices to witnesses, etc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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provost 
O.E. profost, from M.L. propositus (reinforced by O.Fr. cognate provost), from L. propositus, præpositus "a chief, prefect" (cf. O.Prov. probost, O.H.G. probost, Ger. Propst), lit. "placed before, in charge of," from pp. of præponere "put before" (see preposition). Provost marshal first recorded 1513.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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