alderman | meaning of alderman in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Governmentaldermanal‧der‧man /ˈɔːldəmən $ ˈɒːldər-/ noun (plural aldermen /-mən/) [countable]    1 PGan elected member of a town or city council in the US2 PGan important member of a town council in Britain in the pastExamples from the Corpusalderman• Paul Sheridan, ward boss and alderman, begat Paul Sheridan, alderman.• Councillors and aldermen commanded grander funerals than those of guild liverymen, for their status was higher.• Many of the Daley aldermen are ward bosses.• Leroy had quit his ward organization to run against the regular candidate for alderman.• Labour gained one seat but lost two in the by-election following appointment of aldermen.• In other eras, the aldermen ran the city and plundered it.Origin alderman Old English ealdorman “governor in Anglo-Saxon England”, from ealdor “parent” + man