mayor

mayor

See also: 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

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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ), -eɪə(ɹ)
• Homophone: mare (one pronunciation)

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 & 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 & 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
• mayoress (female mayor)
• mayorhood
• mayorlet
• mayor-making
• mayor's banquet
• mayor's court
• mayor's feast
• mayorsfeud
• mayorship
• mayor's peer
• mayor-town
• mayory

Descendants

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

Translations

leader of a city

Albanian: kryebashkiak m Arabic: عُمْدَة‎ m (ʕumda) Armenian: քաղաքապետ (hy) (kʿałakʿapet) Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܪܹܝܫ ܡܕܝܼܢ݇ܬܵܐ‎ c (rēš mdīta) Azerbaijani: icra hakimiyyəti başçısı (in Azerbaijan), icra başçısı, mer (az) (abroad) Basque: alkate, auzapez Bavarian: Buagamasta Belarusian: мэр m (mer), мэ́рка f (mérka) Breton: maer (br) m Bulgarian: кмет (bg) m (kmet), кмети́ца f (kmetíca), градонача́лник m (gradonačálnik) (dated), градонача́лничка f (gradonačálnička), градонача́лница f (gradonačálnica) Burmese: မြို့တော်ဝန် (my) (mrui.tauwan) Catalan: alcalde (ca) m, alcaldessa (ca) f, batlle (ca) m, batllessa (ca) f Cebuano: alkalde, mayor Chinese: Cantonese: 市長／市长, 市长 (si5 zoeng2) Mandarin: 市長／市长 (zh) (shìzhǎng) Czech: starosta (cs) m, starostka f Danish: borgmester c, borgmesterinde c Dutch: burgemeester (nl) m Erzya: ошазор (ošazor) Esperanto: urbestro Estonian: linnapea (et) Faroese: borgarstjóri m Finnish: pormestari (fi), kaupunginjohtaja (fi), määri (fi) French: maire (fr) m, mairesse (fr) f, bourgmestre (fr) m or f (Belgium) Galician: alcalde m, alcaldesa f Georgian: მერი (ka) (meri) German: Bürgermeister (de) m, Bürgermeisterin (de) f Greek: δήμαρχος (el) m or f (dímarchos), δημαρχίνα (el) f (dimarchína) (colloquial) Greenlandic: borgmesteri Hebrew: ראש עירייה \\ רֹאשׁ עִירִיָּה‎ m (rosh iriyá), רֹאשׁ עִיר‎ (he) m (rosh ir) Hindi: महापौर m (mahāpaur), मेयर (hi) m (meyar) Hungarian: polgármester (hu), főpolgármester (hu) (that of a major city) Icelandic: (of a city) borgarstjóri m, (of a town) bæjarstjóri m Ido: urbestro (io) Ilocano: basar Indonesian: wali kota (id) Interlingua: burgomaestro Irish: méara (ga) m Italian: sindaco (it) m, sindaca (it) f, primo cittadino (it) m, prima cittadina f Japanese: 市長 (ja) (しちょう, shichō) Javanese: walikutha Kazakh: қалабасы (qalabasy), мэр (mer) Khmer: ចៅហ្វាយក្រុង (caw vaay krong) Korean: 시장(市長) (ko) (sijang) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: şaredar (ku) m Kyrgyz: мэр (mer), шаарбашы (şaarbaşı) Lao: ນາຍົກເທສະມົນຕີ (nā nyok thē sa mon tī) Latvian: mērs m, mēre f Lithuanian: meras m, merė f Luxembourgish: Buergermeeschter (lb) m Macedonian: градоначалник m (gradonačalnik), градоначалничка f (gradonačalnička), градоначалница f (gradonačalnica) Malay: datuk bandar (ms) Manx: meoir m Maori: mea Mongolian: Cyrillic: хотын дарга (xotyn darga) Mongolian: ᠬᠣᠲᠠ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠳᠠᠷᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ (qota-yin daruɣ'a) Norman: maire m Norwegian: Bokmål: borgermester m, borgermesterinne f, ordfører m, ordførerinne f Nynorsk: borgarmeister m, ordførar m, ordførarinne f Pashto: ښاروال‎ (ps) m (x̌ārwāl) Persian: شهردار‎ (fa) (šahrdâr) Polish: burmistrz (pl) m, burmistrzyni (pl) f (in small town); prezydent miasta m (in big city) Portuguese: prefeito (pt) m (Brazil), presidente da câmara m or f (Portugal) Quechua: kamachiq Romanian: primar (ro) m, primăreasă (ro) f, primăriță (ro) f Russian: мэр (ru) m (mɛr) (male or female), градонача́льник (ru) m (gradonačálʹnik), градонача́льница (ru) f (gradonačálʹnica) (dated), бургоми́стр (ru) m (burgomístr) (of some foreign countries) Scottish Gaelic: mèar m (mayor, generally), probhaist m (provost, as in Scotland) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: градона́челнӣк m, градона́челница f Roman: gradonáčelnīk (sh) m, gradonáčelnica (sh) f Slovak: starosta m, starostka f Slovene: župan (sl) m, županja f Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: šołta m, šołtowka f Upper Sorbian: měšćanosta Spanish: alcalde (es) m, alcaldesa (es) f, intendente (es) m or f (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay), presidente municipal m or f (Mexico), regente (es) m or f (Mexico City), síndico (es) m (Dominican Republic), síndica f (Dominican Republic) Swahili: meya (sw) Swedish: borgmästare (sv) c, borgmästarinna (sv) c Tagalog: alkalde (tl) Tajik: мэр (mer), шаҳрдор (šahrdor) Thai: นายกเทศมนตรี (th) (naa-yók-têet-sà-mon-dtrii), นายก (th) (naa-yók) Turkish: belediye başkanı (tr) Turkmen: mer Ukrainian: мер m (mer), ме́рка f (mérka) Urdu: رَئِیس بَلْدِیَہ‎ m (raīs-e baldiya), میئر‎ m (meyar) Uyghur: شەھەر باشلىقى‎ (sheher bashliqi) Uzbek: mer (uz) Venetian: prefeto m, sìndico (vec) m Vietnamese: thị trưởng (vi) (市長) Volapük: (♂♀) sifal (vo), (♂) hisifal, (♀) jisifal Welsh: maer (cy) m Yiddish: בירגערמײַסטער‎ m (birgermayster)

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): /meˈjoɾ/, [mɪˈjuɾ̪]

Noun

mayor

1. mayor

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:mayor.

---

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Latin maior (“major”).

Noun

mayor

1. major (military rank).

Declension

Declension of mayor

nominative	mayor
genitive	mayornıñ
dative	mayorğa
accusative	mayornı
locative	mayorda
ablative	mayordan

References

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

---

Indonesian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmajɔr]
• 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

• mayoritas

 

Further reading

• “mayor” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — 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

From Latin maior.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /maˈʝoɾ/ [maˈʝoɾ]

• IPA^(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /maˈʝoɾ/ [maˈʝoɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /maˈʃoɾ/ [maˈʃoɾ]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /maˈʒoɾ/ [maˈʒoɾ]

• Audio (Bolivia)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ma‧yor

Adjective

mayor (plural mayores)

1. comparative degree of grande: bigger

   Antonym: menor

2. comparative degree of viejo: older; elder

   mi novio es mayor que yo

   my boyfriend is older than me

   tengo una hermana mayor

   I've got an elder sister

   Antonym: menor

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

   Synonyms: viejo, anciano

4. of age; adult; grown-up

   Cuando (yo) sea mayor voy a ser médico

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

   Synonym: mayor de edad

5. major; main

   una preocupación mayor

   a major concern

   la plaza mayor

   the main square

   Antonym: menor

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

• aguas mayores
• alcalde mayor
• al por mayor
• altar mayor
• batará mayor
• calle mayor
• Carro Mayor
• cigomático mayor
• colegio mayor
• endrino mayor
• Estado Mayor
• estay mayor
• fuerza mayor
• justicia mayor
• libro mayor
• mayora
• mayor de edad
• mayor edad
• mayormente
• mayor postor
• mayor postora
• mayor que
• Osa Mayor
• palabras mayores
• palo mayor
• pasar a mayores
• plana mayor
• plaza mayor
• por la mayor parte
• por mayor
• sargento mayor
• vela mayor
• venta al por mayor

 

Noun

mayor m (plural mayores)

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

Derived terms

• residencia de mayores

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

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

Adjective

mayór

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

• alkalde mayor
• mayor de edad
• tambol-mayor

 

See also

• menor de edad

Further reading

• “mayor”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2018