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.
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 Robert Shea
"I am shocked that the podesta would arrest your houseguest," she said.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Robert Shea
The podesta unlocked a tall box of dark wood, inlaid with ivory, that stood on his desk.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Robert Shea
They might wonder when he had returned to Orvieto from Perugia, but they would have to suppose it was after the podesta took the clerks away from the gates.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Robert Shea
"But the podesta must have good reason for detaining this David."
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Robert Shea
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.
