Mayoral

How to spell mayoral

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce mayoral

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mayoral mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a mayor or to the office of mayor.

Mayoral in a sentence

• The mayoral election drew a record turnout across the city.

• Candidates outlined their plans during the mayoral campaign.

Where does mayoral come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adjective is built on the noun 'mayor', which traces back to the Latin maior, meaning 'greater' or 'senior', the comparative form of magnus 'great' or 'large'. In late Latin, maior was used for a head official or superior, and the word passed into Old French as 'maire' before reaching English in the 1200s as 'mayor', the title for the chief officer of a town or borough. The adjective form 'mayoral' was added later, around the early 1700s, simply attaching the common Latin-derived suffix -al, meaning 'relating to', to describe anything connected with a mayor or the office of mayor. The same maior root quietly survives in 'major' and 'majority', which is a useful reminder that the spelling carries the 'mayor' base intact: write the whole word 'mayor' first, then add -al, and you will not be tempted to drop the silent-looking middle.

How the word is built

• mayor (from Latin maior: greater, senior)
• -al (adjective suffix)