provost Hear it!

provost definition

pro·vost (prō′vōst′, präv′əst; esp. in military use prō′vō′)

noun

  1. a superintendent; official in charge
  2. the chief magistrate of a Scottish burgh
  3. Obsolete a jailer
  4. Eccles. the head of a cathedral chapter or principal church
  5. Educ.
    1. the head of any of certain colleges in the British Isles
    2. ☆ in certain American universities, an administrative official dealing chiefly with faculty, curriculum, etc.

Etymology: ME < OE profost & OFr provost, both < ML propositus, for L praepositus, chief, prefect, orig. pp. of praeponere, to set before, place first < prae-, before + ponere, to place: see pre- & position

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

provost Synonyms

provost

n.

executive, supervisor, officer; see administrator.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

provost Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • become: Twice he made bids to become lord provost of Glasgow, but without success.

Converse of subject

  • govern: It is governed by a provost, 4 bailies, a treasurer, and 10 councilors.

Adjective modifier

  • former: She is the former provost of Yale, part of the US Ivy League market-based system.

Modifies a noun

  • marshal: Promoted to provost marshal at San Carlos he successfully kept the peace.

Noun used with modifier

  • lord: The leader was termed ' provost ' ( lord provost in the largest cities ) equivalent to the position mayor.

Possessives

  • vote: Labor now has 11 councilors - with the provost's casting vote - and Tories 10.
provost usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"provost." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/provost>

APA Style

provost. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/provost

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