Category:Pretor

Pre"tor, n. Etym: [l. praetor, for praeitor, fr. praeire to go Before; prae before + ire to go. See issue.]

1. (rom. Antiq.)

Defn: a civil officer or magistrate among the ancient romans.

Note: originally the pretor was a kind of third consul; but at an early period two pretors were appointed, the first of whom (praetor Urbanus) was a kind of mayor or city judge; the other (praetor Peregrinus) was a judge of cases in which one or both of the parties were foreigners. Still later, the number of pretors, or judges, was further increased.

2. Hence, a mayor or magistrate. [r.] Dryden.