podesta
Americannoun
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any of certain magistrates in Italy, as a chief magistrate in medieval towns and republics.
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a person appointed to serve as mayor of an Italian city during the Fascist regime.
noun
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(in modern Italy) a subordinate magistrate in some towns
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(in Fascist Italy) the chief magistrate of a commune
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any of the governors of the Lombard cities appointed by Frederick Barbarossa
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a chief magistrate in any of various republics, such as Florence
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Etymology
Origin of podesta
1540–50; < Italian podestà power < Latin potestās power, command
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.
"Curiosity is a worthier motive than torture," said Daoud, hoping he was undermining d'Ucello's resolution and making the podesta feel ashamed.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
Daoud himself believed d'Ucello, the podesta, would use the pope's departure to try to increase his own power over the city.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
By this thorough confidence he so won the affection of the podesta of Verona that he concluded peace for him with Vicenza and the whole Guelf party, and then returned his castles to him.
From The Browning Cyclop?dia A Guide to the Study of the Works of Robert Browning by Berdoe, Edward
That confirmed Daoud's suspicions that the podesta might soon move against him.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
D'Ucello, the podesta, came here the night of the uprising, looking for you and Lorenzo.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
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.
