portreeve en · NOUN
Etymology
From Middle English portereve, portereve, from Old English portġerēfa, from port (“a walled market town”) + ġerēfa (“reeve”). By surface analysis, port + reeve.
Meanings
-
A borough-reeve: an office equivalent to a mayor (historical) in several major English towns or (dialect) in various minor boroughs of Wales and Southwest England.
Instead of the portgreve [of London], Richard the first ordained two bailiffs, but presently after him King John granted them a mayor for their yearly magistrate.
1772, Jacob's Law Dictionary:
- (historical) A municipal office subordinate to a mayor, (especially) a bailiff.
- (historical) A port reeve, a port warden.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| portgreve | alternative | lexicographic | |
| portgrave | alternative | lexicographic | |
| portreeves | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| port-reeve | alternative | lexicographic |