Podesta

name, noun

name, noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A chief magistrate of various Italian republics and city-states in the Middle Ages. historical

    "Secular palaces, such as that of the Tolomei, were rented for municipal use, and officials such as the Podestà were found lodgings in others."

  2. 2
    A municipal administrator during the Italian Fascist regime (1927–43). historical

    "M.B. herself is tormented by anxiety […] for her husband, who, as Podestà of this town, is likely soon to get into trouble."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Italian.

Synonyms

All synonyms
tribune

Example

More examples

"Secular palaces, such as that of the Tolomei, were rented for municipal use, and officials such as the Podestà were found lodgings in others."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Italian podesta, from Latin potestas (“power; powerful one”). Doublet of poustie. See potent.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian Podestà.

Related phrases

middle ages

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