Etymologically
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mayoral

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 00:22. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /meɪˈɔː.ɹəl/, /ˈmɛə.ɹəl/[1]
  • US: /meɪˈɔ.ɹəl/, /ˈmeɪ.ə.ɹəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English mayor + -al.[2][3][4][5] The noun mayor is from Old French maire (“head of a town government”), originally an adjective meaning greater, from Latin maior (“greater”), the comparative of magnus (“great, large”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to a mayor or mayoralty: 1699, in a letter of Jonathan Swift's of 13 January.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1690s, and the Shorter Oxford to the late 17th century.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has kept its first meaning, relating to a mayor or to the office of mayor, the mayoralty.[2][5][4]

Timeline

  • 1699 – relating to a mayor, in Swift.[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to a mayor or the office of mayor: the mayoral election.[4][2][5]

Usage notes

A different noun mayoral, from Spanish mayoral (“foreman, steward, coachman”), is recorded from 1598, first for the man in charge of a military train and later, since 1834, for officials in Spain such as the conductor of a stagecoach or the foreman of a cattle ranch.[2][5][4] The OED gives both stress patterns for the adjective in British English, on the first syllable and on the second.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press