Al'der-man, n.

n.; pl. ALDERMEN. [A-S. ealdorman, aldorman, ælderman; from ealdor, eoldor, aldor, alder; compounded of eald, ald, old, and man.] 1. A senior or superior. [Obs.] ☞ The title was applied, among the Anglo-Saxons, to princes, dukes, earls, senators, and presiding magistrates; also to archbishops and bishops, implying superior wisdom or authority. Thus Ethelstan, duke of the East-Anglians, was called Alderman of all England; and there were aldermen of cities, counties, and castles, who had jurisdiction within their respective districts. 2. A magistrate or officer of a city or town corporation, next in rank below the mayor; in some cases having authority to act as a civil magistrate or justice of the peace, and sometimes as a judge. Spelman. Cowell. Burrill.