Mayor
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
(Lat. major; meyr, miret, or maer, one that keeps guard; old English, maier, potestas, power or authority, 25 Wend. [N. Y.] 50.) The chief governor or executive magistrate of a city. The old word was "portgreve." The word "mayor" first occurs in 1189, when Richard I. substituted a mayor for the two bailiffs of London. The word is common in Bracton.
Bracton, 57.
In London, York, and Dublin, he is called "lord mayor."
Wharton.