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.
Even now the podesta was trying to use fear rather than pain to make Daoud tell him what he wanted to know.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
Daoud tried to read d'Ucello's round, swarthy face, but he could not tell whether the podesta was relieved or angry.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
The podesta, the clerk, and the contessa's steward muttered together by the door of the dungeon.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
The podesta glanced at the silver flask on the table, but made no move to pick it up.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Shea, Robert
That confirmed Daoud's suspicions that the podesta might soon move against him.
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.
