alderman

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Alderman

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Middle English alderman, aldermon, from Old English ealdorman, ealdormann, from ealdor (elder, parent, chief, prince, author) + mann (person). See ealdorman.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)
  • Hyphenation: al‧der‧man

Noun

[edit]

alderman (plural aldermen)

  1. A member of a municipal legislative body in a city or town.
  2. (UK, historical, obsolete slang) A half-crown coin; its value, 30 pence.
  3. A long pipe for smoking.
    • 1843, John William Carleton, The Sporting Review, volume 10, page 419:
      In one part of Cockaigne an amalgamation of these two last has lately taken place; and the pleasure experienced by the parishioners of Walbrook is unbounded when smoking an alderman and churchwarden.
  4. (US, slang) A potbelly, paunch.
    • 1934, James T. Farrell, chapter 13, in The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan,:
      He'd exercise, get the fat off, because if he let it go, he'd have too much on and maybe make his heart worse, and you looked like hell with an alderman. … And she wouldn't want a guy who stuck out in front like a balloon.

Synonyms

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

Anagrams

[edit]

French

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Borrowed from English alderman.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

alderman m (plural aldermans)

  1. alderman

Further reading

[edit]

Old Frisian

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

alderman m

  1. alderman

Inflection

[edit]
Declension of alderman (masculine consonant stem)
singular plural
nominative alderman aldermen
genitive aldermannes aldermanna
dative aldermanne aldermannum, aldermannem
accusative alderman aldermen

Descendants

[edit]
  • West Frisian: âlderman