mayor

English

Alternative forms

• maiere, maieur, mar, mayere, meer, mehir, meir, meire, mer, mere, meyhir, meyr, maier, mayer, mayr, meyer, meyre, maiour, mair, maire, mare, mayre, maior, major, mawer, majer, mayour (obsolete)

Etymology

Circa 1300; from Middle English maire, from Old French maire (“head of a city or town government”) (13th century), from Latin maior (“bigger, greater, superior”), comparative of magnus (“big, great”). Doublet of major.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛə̯/, (uncommon) /ˈmeɪ.ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪ.ɚ/, /ˈmɛɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: mare (monosyllabic form)
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ), -eɪə(ɹ)

Noun

mayor (plural mayors)

1. 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.
   • 1907 Sept. 12, The Nation, page 222:

     The office of mayor has been the tomb of many political ambitions.

   • 1966 Mar. 31, Lyndon B. Johnson, Remarks before the National Legislative Conference of the National League of Cities:

     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.

   • 1988, John B. Judis, William F. Buckley Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives, page p. 291:

     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 much of the violence.

   • 1993 Dec. 16, Bill Oakley et al., “"$pringfield"”, in The Simpsons, season 5, episode 10:

     Quimby: I propose that I use what's left of the town treasury to move to a more prosperous town and run for mayor and once selected I will send for the rest of you.
     All: Boo!

   • 2006, Ed Burns et al., “"Soft Eyes"”, in The Wire, season 4, episode 2:

     Carver: What the hell d'you say to him?
     Hauk: I said "Mr Mayor that's a good strong dick you've got there and I see you know how to use it." I didn't say shit!

2. (historical) Short for mayor of the palace, the royal stewards of the Frankish Empire.
3. (historical) Synonym of mair, various former officials in the Kingdom of Scotland.
4. (Ireland, rare, obsolete) A member of a city council.
5. (historical, obsolete) A high justice, an important judge.
6. (chiefly US) A largely ceremonial position in some municipal governments that presides over the city council while a contracted city manager holds actual executive power.
7. (figurative, humorous) A local VIP, a muckamuck or big shot reckoned to lead some local group.
   • 1902 May 22, Westminster Gazette, p. 2:

     In some parts the burlesque civic official was designated ‘Mayor of the Pig Market’.

   • 1982, Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street:

     The Mayor of Castro Street, that was Harvey's unofficial title.

Synonyms

• (female, when distinguished): mayoress
• (head of a town): burgomaster, boroughmaster (historical, of boroughs); provost (of Scottish burghs & historical French bourgs); Lord Provost (of certain Scottish burghs); praetor (archaic)

Hyponyms

(municipal principal leader):

• mayor, lord mayor, Lord Mayor (male mayor)
• mayoress, lady mayor, Lady Mayor (female mayor)

Derived terms

• lady mayor
• lord mayor
• mayoral, mayorial
• mayoralty
• mayor-choosing
• mayor-corn
• mayor-council
• mayoress (female mayor)
• mayorhood
• mayorlet
• mayor-making
• mayor's banquet
• mayor's court
• mayor's feast
• mayorsfeud
• mayorship
• mayor's peer
• mayor-town
• mayory
• weak mayor

Descendants

• → Cebuano: mayor
• → Swahili: meya
• → Tok Pisin: meya

Translations

References

• “mayor, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Anagrams

• Amory, Moray, Raymo, moray

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin māior.

Adjective

mayor (epicene, plural mayores)

1. old
2. older
3. (music) major

Cebuano

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English mayor, from Old French maire (“head of a city or town government”), from Latin maior (“bigger, greater, superior”), comparative of magnus (“big, great”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ma‧yor
• IPA^(key): /ˈmeijoɾ/,

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Noun

mayor

1. mayor

   Synonym: alkalde

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:mayor.

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Latin maior (“major”).

Noun

mayor

1. major (military rank).

Declension

References

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Indonesian

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:

mayor

Wikipedia ^id

Etymology

From Dutch majoor, from Spanish mayor, from Latin maior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: ma‧yor

Noun

mayor (plural mayor-mayor, first-person possessive mayorku, second-person possessive mayormu, third-person possessive mayornya)

1. major (military rank in Indonesian Army)
2. lieutenant commander (military rank in Indonesian Navy)
3. squadron leader (military rank in Indonesian Air Force)

Alternative forms

• mejar (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)

Adjective

mayor

1. major.

   Synonyms: besar, utama

   Antonym: minor

Related terms

Further reading

• “mayor” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Spanish mayor and Portuguese maior.

Adjective

mayor

1. great, major

Portuguese

Adjective

mayor m or f (plural mayores)

1. Obsolete spelling of maior

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin maior.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Bolivia):

  (file)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ma‧yor

Adjective

mayor m or f (masculine and feminine plural mayores)

1. comparative degree of grande: bigger

   Antonym: menor

2. comparative degree of viejo: older; elder

   Antonym: menor

   mi novio es mayor que yo

   my boyfriend is older than me

   tengo una hermana mayor

   I've got an elder sister

3. (of a person) comparative degree of viejo: old; at an advanced age

   Synonyms: viejo, anciano

4. of age; adult; grown-up

   Synonym: mayor de edad

   Cuando (yo) sea mayor voy a ser médico

   When I'm grown-up, I want to be a doctor.

5. major; main

   Antonym: menor

   una preocupación mayor

   a major concern

   la plaza mayor

   the main square

6. head; boss
7. (music) major

   Antonym: menor

8. (as a superlative, el/la/lo mayor) superlative degree of grande: the biggest
9. (as a superlative) superlative degree of viejo: the oldest
10. enhanced

Derived terms

Noun

mayor m (plural mayores)

1. (military) major (military rank)
2. boss; head
3. (literary, in the plural) ancestors
4. old person

Derived terms

Noun

mayor f (plural mayores)

1. (nautical) mainsail

Further reading

• “mayor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Sundanese

Noun

mayor

1. picnic

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mayor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈjoɾ/,
• Hyphenation: ma‧yor

Adjective

mayór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜌᜓᜇ᜔)

1. main; principal

   Synonym: pangunahin

2. major

   Synonym: medyor

   1. greater in dignity, rank, importance, significance, or interest.
   2. greater in number, quantity, or extent.

Related terms

See also

Further reading

• “mayor”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018