Etymograph

English

mayor

Mayor comes from Middle English maire, from Old French maire ‘head of a town government’, from Latin maior ‘greater’, comparative of magnus ‘big’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂s1‘big’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵyōs1‘bigger’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*majjōs1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaior1‘bigger’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400maire1‘head of a city or town government’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maire1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1902mayor1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English mayor
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1902, Westminster Gazette: “In some parts the burlesque civic official was designated…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂sWiktionary, English mayor‘big’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵyōsWiktionary, English mayor‘bigger’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*majjōsWiktionary, English mayorreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaiorWiktionary, English mayor‘bigger’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400maireWiktionary, English mayor‘head of a city or town government’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maireWiktionary, English mayor
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1902mayorWiktionary, English mayor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1902, Westminster Gazette: “In some parts the burlesque civic official was designated…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with mayor, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s ‘big, great’

  • master ← maister ← mǣster ← magister ← magester
  • magnitude ← magnitūdō ← magnus ← *magnos ← *m̥ǵh₂nós
  • magnum ← magnus ← *magnos ← *m̥ǵh₂nós
  • maxim ← maxime ← maxima ← maximus ← *magisVmos
  • magnate ← magnātēs ← magnus ← *magnos ← *m̥ǵh₂nós
  • magnify ← magnifien ← magnifier ← magnificāre ← magnificus
  • mair ← māra ← *mikilaz
  • mickle ← miċel ← *mikil ← *mikilaz
  • muckle ← muchel ← myċel ← *mikil ← *mikilaz
  • mahila ← महिला ← महिला ← *maȷ́ʰā́

through Proto-Italic *majjōs

  • majority ← maiorité ← maiōritātem ← maiōritās ← maior

through Latin maior ‘bigger, greater, superior’

28 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mayor”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s / mayor