podesta
English
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Italian podestà, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin potestas (“power; powerful one”). See potent.
Noun
podesta (plural podestas)
- (historical) A chief magistrate of the Italian republics in the Middle Ages.
- A municipal office (variously denoting a mayor, councilor, etc.) in some Italian-speaking towns.