Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A high administrative official or chief officer, as.
  • noun Any of several high military or civil officials in ancient Rome.
  • noun The chief of police of Paris, France.
  • noun A chief administrative official of a department of France.
  • noun The administrator in charge of discipline at a Jesuit school.
  • noun A student monitor or officer, especially in a private school.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A governor, commander, chief magistrate, or superintendent.
  • noun A director.
  • noun Tutelary divinity; presiding deity.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A Roman officer who controlled or superintended a particular command, charge, department, etc.
  • noun France A superintendent of a department who has control of its police establishment, together with extensive powers of municipal regulation.
  • noun In the Greek and Roman Catholic churches, a title of certain dignitaries below the rank of bishop.
  • noun (R. C. Ch.) the head of a mission, not of episcopal rank.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An official of ancient Rome.
  • noun The head of a department in France.
  • noun A school pupil in a position of power over other pupils.
  • noun A commander.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a chief officer or chief magistrate

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin praefectus, from past participle of praeficere, to place at the head of : prae-, pre- + facere, to make; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin praefectus ("overseer, director, prefect"). Literally 'one having been put in charge'.

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Examples

  • This role as social prefect is an intolerable burden

    IPCC To Investigate Barwell Deaths « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

  • Around the time of Easter last year, the knight I mentioned earlier, whom we called the prefect of Tiberiad, and who had been victorious in that battle, was involved in another encounter, less fortunate for our men, in which he was captured, and brought alive by the pagans to

    The Deeds of God Through the Franks Abbot of Nogent-sous-Coucy Guibert 1088

  • The prefect is a member of FUC and the sultan is accused of sympathising with the rebels, who along with two other groups have been fighting the army in recent weeks, Tenebaye told AFP.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2007

  • He's called the prefect of the pontifical household.

    CNN Transcript Apr 4, 2005 2005

  • The prefect was the arbiter of what was allowed and what was not allowed, an enforcer of rules, a catcher of mistakes.

    justinker Diary Entry justinker 2005

  • The prefect spoke to Brother Michael and Brother Michael answered and called the prefect sir.

    A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 2003

  • The prefect is another descendant of Fenardre the Great who would emulate his ancestor.

    The White Order Modesitt, L. E. 1998

  • But you will remember that this happened in the Marconi period, and to be a prefect is a Preparation for Public Life.

    Surprised by Joy Lewis, C. S. 1955

  • The prefect spoke to Brother Michael and Brother Michael answered and called the prefect sir.

    A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Joyce, James, 1882-1941 1922

  • The prefect spoke to Brother Michael and Brother Michael answered and called the prefect sir.

    A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Joyce, James, 1882-1941 1922

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