Circa 1300; from Middle English maire, from Old French maire (13th century), from Latin maior, comparative of magnus ("big, great").

• (British) IPA: /ˈmɛə̯/, /ˈmeɪ.ə/
• (America) IPA: /ˈmeɪ.ɚ/, /ˈmɛɚ/

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.
   • 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.

2. (historical) Short for 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, jocular) 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 Milk's unofficial title.

• (female, when distinguished) mayoress
• (head of a town) burgomaster, boroughmaster (historical, of boroughs); provost (of Scottish burghs & historical French bourgs); Lord Provost (of certain Scottish burghs); praetor (archaic)

• French: maire, mairesse, bourgmestre (Belgium)
• German: Bürgermeister, Bürgermeisterin
• Italian: sindaco, sindaca, primo cittadino, prima cittadina
• Portuguese: prefeito (Brazil), presidente da câmara (Portugal)
• Russian: мэр
• Spanish: alcalde, alcaldesa, intendente (Argentina), presidente municipal (Mexico), regente (Mexico City), síndico (Dominican Republic), síndica (Dominican Republic)

• As an English surname, variant of Mayer.
• As a Spanish - surname, from the adjective mayor.
• Also as a Spanish surname, from the archaic noun major, itself related to the above.
• As a Jewish surname, variant of Meyer.

1. Surname.