Old English aldormonn (Mercian), ealdormann (West Saxon) "ruler, prince, chief; chief officer of a shire," from aldor, ealder "patriarch" (comparative of ald "old;" see o [..]

elected member of a local governing body, such as a city council.

n. A member of a municipal legislative body, who usually exercises also certain judicial functions.

Elected representative who is part of the governing body in a town or city.

a member of a city legislative body

Derived from O.E. ealdorman and surviving in urban usage to describe the holder of a senior civic office. Two main usages are (I) the chief officer of a guild: occurs in the earlier Middle Ages and la [..]

Alderman is a member of a city council or other local governing body. Historically the term was used to refer to local municipal judges in small legal proceedings. For example, Pennsylvania establishe [..]

(n) a member of a municipal legislative body (as a city council)

A cant term for half-a-crown. An alderman as chief magistrate is half a king in his own ward; and half a crown is half a king.

A burglar’s tool; a crowbar for forcing safes. So called from the high rank it holds with burglars.

One of the seniors or elders. Now applied to a class of magistrates in corporate towns. In London an alderman is the chief magistrate in a ward appointed by election. There are also aldermen of the Co [..]

A man’s pot belly

The Anglo-Saxon ealdorman (meaning "chief man") was an officer of the king who was essentially leader of a shire, which included the presidency of the shire court; as they became more powerf [..]