mayor

See also: Mayor

Languages (11)

English

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Asturian • Cebuano • Chavacano • Crimean Tatar • Indonesian • Papiamentu • Portuguese • Spanish • Sundanese • Tagalog

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Page categories

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

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s

Proto-Indo-European *-yōs

Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs

Proto-Italic *magjōs

Latin maior

Old French mairebor.

Middle English maire

English mayor

From Middle English maire, from Old French maire (“head of a city or town government”), a substantivation of Old French maire (“greater”), from Latin maior (“bigger, greater, superior”), comparative of magnus (“big, great”). Doublet of major. Cognate with Old High German meior (“estate manager, steward, bailiff”) (modern German Meier), Middle Dutch meier (“administrator, steward, bailiff”) (modern Dutch meier). Displaced Old English burgealdor (“a ruler of a city, mayor, citizen”), burhġerēfa (“boroughreeve”), and portġerēfa (“portreeve”).

Pronunciation

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

  Audio:

  (file)

• (some US dialects such as Chicago) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛɚ/, /ˈmɛɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ), -eɪə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: may‧or
• Homophone: Mayer
• Homophone: mare (dialectally)

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 et 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 et 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) Ellipsis of 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), boroughreeve, portreeve (historical); 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
• mayoralty
• mayor-choosing
• mayor-corn
• mayor-council
• mayordom
• mayoress
• mayorhood
• mayorial
• mayorlet
• mayorly
• mayor-making
• mayor's banquet
• mayor's court
• mayor's feast
• mayorsfeud
• mayorship
• mayor's peer
• mayor-town
• mayory
• supermayor
• weak mayor

Descendants

• ⇒ Cebuano: mayor
• → Swahili: meya
• → Tok Pisin: meya
• → Yiddish: מייאָר (meyor)

Translations

leader of a city

• Akkadian: ḫazannum m, hazannātum f
• Albanian: kryebashkiak m
• Arabic: عُمْدَة m (ʕumda)
• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܪܹܝܫ ܡܕܝܼܢ݇ܬܵܐ c (rēš mdīta)

• Armenian: քաղաքապետ (hy) (kʻaġakʻapet)
• Asturian: alcalde (ast) m, alcaldesa (ast) f
• Azerbaijani: icra hakimiyyəti başçısı (in Azerbaijan), icra başçısı, mer (az) (abroad)
• Basque: alkate, auzapez
• 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 (si⁵ zoeng²)

  Mandarin: 市長 / 市长 (zh) (shìzhǎng)

• Czech: starosta (cs) m, starostka (cs) f
• Danish: borgmester (da) 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 (gl) m, alcaldesa f
• Georgian: მერი (ka) (meri)
• German: Bürgermeister (de) m, Bürgermeisterin (de) f

  Bavarian: Buagamasta

• 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 (is) 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 (mér)
• Khmer: ចៅហ្វាយក្រុង (caw vaay krong)
• Korean: 시장(市長) (ko) (sijang)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: şaredar (ku) m, şaredar (ku) m or f

• Kyrgyz: мэр (mer), шаарбашы (şaarbaşı)
• Lao: ນາຍົກເທສະມົນຕີ (nk 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)
• Maltese: sindku m
• Manx: meoir m
• Māori: mea
• Marathi: महापौर m (mahāpaur)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хотын дарга (xotyn darga)

  Mongolian script: ᠬᠣᠲᠠ ᠶᠢᠨ
  ᠳᠠᠷᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ (qota-yin darug-a)

• Norman: maire m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: borgermester m, borgermesterinne f, ordfører m, ordførerinne f

  Nynorsk: borgarmeister m, ordførar m, ordførarinne f

• Occitan: cònsol (oc) m
• Pannonian Rusyn: городоначалнїк m (horodonačalnjik), городоначалнїца f (horodonačalnjica)
• Pashto: ښاروال (ps) m (x̌ārwāl)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: شَهْرْدار (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
• Réunion Creole French: mèr
• 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)
• Sami:

  Northern Sami: sátnejođiheaddji, bormeašttir (Finland)

• Scottish Gaelic: mèar m (mayor, generally), probhaist m (provost, as in Scotland)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: градона́челнӣк m, градона́челница f

  Latin: 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: رَئِیسِ بَلْدِیَہ m (raīs-i baldiya), میئَر m (mear)
• Uyghur: شەھەر باشلىقى (sheher bashliqi)
• Uzbek: mer (uz)
• Venetan: prefeto m, sìndico (vec) m
• Vietnamese: thị trưởng (vi) (市長)
• Volapük: (♂♀) sifal (vo), (♂) hisifal, (♀) jisifal
• Welsh: maer (cy) m
• Yiddish: בירגערמײַסטער m (birgermayster), מייאָר m (meyor) (US)

References

• “mayor, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Anagrams

• Amory, Moray, Raymo, moray

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin maior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈʝoɾ/ [maˈʝoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ma‧yor

Adjective

mayor (epicene, plural mayores)

1. old
2. older
3. (music) major

   Synonym: menor

Cebuano

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish mayor, from Latin maior.

Noun

mayór (Badlit spelling ᜋᜌᜓᜇ᜔)

1. major

   Synonym: medyor

Adjective

mayór (Badlit spelling ᜋᜌᜓᜇ᜔)

1. major

   Synonym: kinalabwan

Etymology 2

Pseudo-Hispanism, derived from English mayor. The Spanish word for “mayor” would be alcalde.

Noun

mayór (Badlit spelling ᜋᜌᜓᜇ᜔)

1. mayor

   Synonym: alkalde

   • 2018 June 29, “Video nga Gi-upload 'Pagpanaut' kang Luigi”, in SuperBalita Cebu:

     Gihulagway sa tigpamaba ni Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing nga black propaganda aron pagdaot sa imahe sa mayor ang tuyo sa usa ka online post diin nagpakita sa mga babaye nga nag-party ug nagsayawsayaw sa yate uban sa opisyal.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• bise mayor

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish mayor (“elder”).

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

mayor

1. elder; older

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]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Indonesian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmajor/ [ˈma.jɔr]
• Rhymes: -ajor
• Syllabification: ma‧yor

Noun

mayor (plural mayor-mayor)

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 (comparative lebih mayor, superlative paling mayor)

1. major

   Synonyms: besar, utama

   Antonym: minor

Related terms

• mayoritas

Further reading

• “mayor”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Spanish mayor and Portuguese maior.

Noun

mayor

1. parent

See also

• mayó
• mayo

Adjective

mayor

1. great, major

Portuguese

Adjective

mayor m or f (plural mayores)

1. obsolete spelling of maior

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s

Proto-Indo-European *-yōs

Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs

Proto-Italic *magjōs

Latin maior

Spanish mayor

Inherited from Latin maior.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /maˈʝoɾ/ [maˈʝoɾ]

• IPA^(key): /maˈʝoɾ/ [maˈʝoɾ] (everywhere but Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay, northern Mexico, Yucatán and Central America (except Panama))
• IPA^(key): /maˈʃoɾ/ [maˈʃoɾ] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /maˈʒoɾ/ [maˈʒoɾ] (elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /maˈjoɾ/ [maˈjoɾ] (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Audio (Bolivia):

  (file)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ma‧yor

Adjective

mayor m or f (masculine and feminine plural mayores)

1. comparative degree of grande: bigger

   Antonym: menor

   • 2024 April 29, Peter Valdes-Dapena, “Rolls-Royce amplía su fábrica para construir coches más despacio”, in CNN en Español‎^[2]:

     Los fabricantes italianos de supercoches Lamborghini y Ferrari también han informado de un mayor interés por los programas de personalización.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. comparative degree of viejo: older; elder

   Antonym: menor

   mi novio es mayor que yo

   my boyfriend is older than me

   tengo una hermana mayor

   I've got an elder sister

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

   Synonyms: viejo, anciano

4. of age; adult; grown-up

   Synonym: mayor de edad

   Cuando (yo) sea mayor voy a ser médico

   When I'm grown-up I'm going to be a doctor

5. major; main

   Antonym: menor

   una preocupación mayor

   a major concern

   la plaza mayor

   the main square

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

• a mayor abundamiento
• adulto mayor
• aguas mayores
• al por mayor
• alcalde mayor
• alguacil mayor
• altar mayor
• batará mayor
• calle mayor
• Carro Mayor
• caza mayor
• cigomático mayor
• colegio mayor
• endrino mayor
• Estado Mayor
• estay mayor
• fuerza mayor
• iglesia mayor
• justicia mayor
• labios mayores
• libro mayor
• mayor de edad
• mayor edad
• mayor postor
• mayor postora
• mayor que
• mayora
• mayormente
• negar la mayor
• oficial mayor
• ortejo mayor
• 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

   Synonym: patrón

3. (literary, in the plural) ancestors

   Synonyms: antepasado, ancestro

4. old person

   Synonym: viejo

Usage notes

• Mayor is a false friend and does not mean the same as the English word mayor. The Spanish word for mayor is alcalde.

Derived terms

• residencia de mayores

Noun

mayor f (plural mayores)

1. (nautical) mainsail

Further reading

• “mayor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Sundanese

Noun

mayor

1. picnic

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mayor, from Latin maior. Doublet of meyor and medyor.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maˈjoɾ/ [mɐˈjoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ma‧yor

Adjective

mayór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜌᜓᜇ᜔)

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

• alguwasil mayor
• alkalde mayor
• altamayor
• mayor de-edad
• mayorya
• modo mayor
• sakristan mayor
• tambol-mayor

Further reading

• “mayor”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018