alderman English · revision 376

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɔːldəmən/, /ˈɒl-/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɔldəɹmən/, /ˈɑldəɹmən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|alderman]], [[inh|ang|ealdormann]] (Mercian ''aldormonn''),^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[af|ang|ealdor|mann|t1=elder, chief, patriarch|t2=man]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) with ''ealdor'' from ''eald'' “old”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Old English, a man of high rank, especially one governing a shire or district under the king (750).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The title presumably first referred to elders of the clan, but in Old English it was already used of the king's viceroys regardless of age, and later of the chief magistrate of a county, with civil and military duties.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) Under Canute it gave way to ''eorl'' (see [[earl]]), and after the Norman Conquest to ''count''.^(Etymonline) Having lost its specific sense, it was applied to the headman or warden of a guild (1130),^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and, as the guilds became identified with town government, to a city or borough magistrate (c. 1200).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) In England and Ireland aldermen formed the senior branch of borough and county councils until 1974,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) and in North America the word names an elected member of a city council.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 750 – Old English title of a ruler under the king.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 810 – Mercian ''aldormonn''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1130 – the headman of a guild.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – a city or borough magistrate.^(OED 1989)

+ * 18th century – ''aldermanic''.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A member of the [[municipal]] legislative body of a town or city.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In England and Ireland, a senior member of a borough or county council, chosen by the elected councillors (in England until 1974).^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(historical)'' In Anglo-Saxon England, a noble of high rank, especially the chief officer of a [[shire]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[aldermancy]]

+ * [[aldermanic]]

+ * [[aldermanry]]

+ * [[alderperson]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[elder]]

+ * [[old]]

+ * [[earl]]

+ * [[man]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}