What does "burgomaster" mean?

The mayor, or head magistrate, of a town in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and certain other countries.

What is a synonym for "burgomaster"?

Common synonyms include: mayor, alderman, burghermaster, bürgermeister, chancellor, city father.

Pronounced //ˈbɜɹɡəmæstɚ//.

//ˈbɜɹɡəmæstɚ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The mayor, or head magistrate, of a town in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and certain other countries.
2
a mayor of a municipality in Germany or Holland or Flanders or Austria wordnet

"The executive power was in the hands of the burgomaster and of the town councillors, who were elected by the great assembly."

Partial calque of Dutch burgemeester with master. Compare also boroughmaster.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.