Alderman

Alderman, formed by joining the words 'ald' (old) and man, originally meant a 'chief patriarch' but now is an elected member of a municipal council.

The term was once applied for a warden of a guild. member of a municipal body, a local magistrate, and a municipal officer.

In Anglo-Saxon England, the term denoted a noble serving the king as a chief officer in a district or shire. Later, it was being applied for a member of a county or borough council, next in status to the Mayor, but such a usage was discontinued in 1974.