intendant
Americannoun
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a person who has the direction or management of some public business, the affairs of an establishment, etc.; a superintendent.
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the title of various government officials, especially administrators serving under the French, Spanish, or Portuguese monarchies.
noun
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history a provincial or colonial official of France, Spain, or Portugal
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a senior administrator in some countries, esp in Latin America
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a superintendent or manager
Etymology
Origin of intendant
1645–55; < French < Latin intendent- (stem of intendēns ) present participle of intendere to stetch, make an effort (for), attend (to). See intend, -ant
Explanation
During the monarchies of France and Spain, intendants were appointed officials. Generally, intendants were responsible for carrying out the king or queen's orders throughout the country. Intendants were appointed to oversee the royal provinces, making sure that the king's commands were being followed. These civil servants were chosen from the nobility or upper-class, and intendants were abolished along with the monarchy itself after the French Revolution. The term is still used in several countries today; in Portugal, an intendant is a member of a police force, and in Argentina it's a city mayor, for example.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The new deal was announced Wednesday and will keep the conductor in his post after Matthias Schulz succeeds Andreas Homoki as intendant and artistic director starting with the 2025-26 season.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2022
“We had a sold-out house, so the intendant of the theater called me that morning at 9 a.m. to ask me to play,” recalled the head of the theater’s music staff, Valeria Polunina.
From New York Times ● Mar. 4, 2020
The opera house says Matthias Schulz, 37, will replace Jürgen Flimm, 73, as intendant, or general director, in 2018.
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2015
I happened to be chatting to the intendant of the Deutsche Oper the other day, as you do - the director of the Deutsche Oper, one of the world's big opera houses.
From BBC ● May 25, 2013
The intendant knew that a junk had been specially prepared to go to China; he saw the seal; what suspicion could he have?
From Strange Stories from the Lodge of Leisures by Unknown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
