mayoralty
(ˈmɛərəltɪ)
Forms: 4 mairaltee, 5 mayraltye, 5–6 mairalte, mayraltie, 5–7 mairaltie, 6 merialtie, meralty, mayralte, mayreraltie, 6–7 maioraltie, 7 majorality, mairoltie, myraltie, maioralty, mearaltie, 8 may'ralty, mayorality, majoralty, 7– mayoralty.
[ad. OF. mairalté, f. maire mayor, after principalté, mod. principauté.]
1. The office of a mayor.
| 1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 225/1 The eleccion of Mairaltee is to be to the Fre men of the Citee. 1438 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 330 Ony citsaine bering office of Mairaltie or of balifs. 1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices i. (1540) 65 Pericles sayd well whan he had a felowe in offyce in his mayraltie [orig. in prætura] called Sophocles poete. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. ii. vii. (1633) 96 This Majorality both for state and charge of that office..exceedeth any Citty in England, except London. 1702 Toleration 17 The May'ralty and other Offices are confin'd to their City Councils. 1851 D. G. Mitchell Fresh Gleanings 75 The office of Mayoralty in the..American cities. 1890 Gross Gild Merch. I. 97 The mayoralty, which gave them a chief officer of their own election. |
2. The period during which a mayor holds office.
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1533) II. 30/2 The mayraltie of John Tolesham. 1540 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 159 Hys ij yeres mayreraltie. 1632 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 480 The yeare of the myraltie of Sir Vallentin Blake. 1727 W. Mather Yng. Man's Comp. 105 Nor has the Lord Mayor of London, during his Mayorality, a less Title than Right Honourable. 1870 Lowell Study Wind. 108 Of his mayoralty we have another anecdote. |
† 3. The district over which a ‘mayor’ has jurisdiction. Obs. rare—1.
| 1705 Lond. Gaz. No. 4113/3 The Mayoralty of Boisleduc..and the Country beyond the Maese, are directed to have in a readiness 1700 Wagons. |
4. attrib.
| 1573 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 423 Mr. Andrew Brown..beinge then in his Meralty office. 1647 Ibid. 496 Wee..thought fitt to record the same in the Mearaltie booke of this Corporation. 1822 C'tess Blessington Magic Lantern 22 The Lord Mayor's coach, with all the paraphernalia of mayoralty finery. 1887 Dict. Nat. Biog. XI. 102/2 The mayoralty pageant provided [1635] by the Ironmongers' Company for Clitherow. |
Hence † mayoraltyship, the office of a mayor.
| 1582 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 432 The office of Meraltyship. 1600 Ibid. 459 The office of Maioraltishipp or Baillifshipp. |