praetor

noun5

1. •
   The title designating a Roman administrative official whose role changed over time.
2. •
   A consul in command of the army.
3. •
   An annually-elected curule magistrate, subordinate to the consuls in provincial administration, and who performed some of their duties; numbering initially only one, later two (either of the praetor urbānus (“urban praetor”) or the praetor peregrīnus (“peregrine praetor”)), and eventually eighteen.
4. •
   A high civic or administrative official, especially a chief magistrate or mayor. Sometimes used as a title.
5. •
   (historical) The title of the chief magistrate, the mayor, and/or the podestà in Palermo, in Verona, and in various other parts of 17th- and 18th-century Italy.