alderman
Sign in to saveAn alderman or alderperson is a member of a municipal assembly or a council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council member elected by voters.
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- female form of label
- alderwoman
- native label
- alderman
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Article
14 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Usage by country
- Australia
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
- England, Northern Ireland and Wales
- Honorary aldermen
- City of London
- Scotland
- United States
- See also
- References
An alderman or alderperson is a member of a municipal assembly or a council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council member elected by voters.
==Etymology== The title is derived from the Old English title of ealdorman, which literally means "elder man", and which was used by the chief nobles presiding over shires. Similar titles exist in other Germanic languages, such as ' in Swedish, ' in Norwegian, ' in Danish and Low German, ' in West Frisian, ' in Dutch, and ' in German. Finnish also has '''', which was borrowed from Swedish. All of these words mean "elder person" or "wise man".