Prefect

Prefect
Prefect Pre"fect, n. [L. praefectus, fr. praefectus, p. p. of praeficere to set over; prae before + facere to make: cf. F. pr['e]fet.] 1. A Roman officer who controlled or superintended a particular command, charge, department, etc.; as, the prefect of the aqueducts; the prefect of a camp, of a fleet, of the city guard, of provisions; the pretorian prefect, who was commander of the troops guarding the emperor's person. [1913 Webster]

2. A superintendent of a department who has control of its police establishment, together with extensive powers of municipal regulation. [France] --Brande & C. [1913 Webster]

3. In the Greek and Roman Catholic churches, a title of certain dignitaries below the rank of bishop. [1913 Webster]

{Apostolic prefect} (R. C. Ch.), the head of a mission, not of episcopal rank. --Shipley. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • prefect — PREFÉCT, prefecţi, s.m. 1. (În Roma antică) Demnitar care conducea o prefectură (1). 2. (În vechea organizaţie administrativă a ţării) Şef al administraţiei şi poliţiei într un judeţ, care reprezenta aici puterea centrală. ♢ Prefect de poliţie… …   Dicționar Român

  • prefect — (n.) mid 14c., from O.Fr. prefect (12c.), from L. praefectus public overseer, director, properly pp. of praeficere to put in front, to set over, put in authority, from prae in front, before (see PRE (Cf. pre )) + root of facere (pp. factus) to… …   Etymology dictionary

  • prefect — Prefect, Praefectus …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • prefect — ► NOUN 1) chiefly Brit. a senior pupil authorized to enforce discipline in a school. 2) a chief officer, magistrate, or regional governor in certain countries. DERIVATIVES prefectoral adjective prefectorial adjective. ORIGIN Latin praefectus,… …   English terms dictionary

  • prefect — [prē′fekt΄] n. [ME prefecte < OFr < L praefectus, pp. of praeficere, to set over: see PRE & FY] 1. in ancient Rome, any of various high ranking officials or chief magistrates in charge of governmental or military departments 2. in modern… …   English World dictionary

  • Prefect — This article is about the title. For the car, see Ford Prefect. For the literary character, see Ford Prefect (character). Prefect (from the Latin praefectus, perfect participle of praeficere: make in front , i.e., put in charge) is a magisterial… …   Wikipedia

  • prefect — /pree fekt/, n. 1. a person appointed to any of various positions of command, authority, or superintendence, as a chief magistrate in ancient Rome or the chief administrative official of a department of France or Italy. 2. Rom. Cath. Ch. a. the… …   Universalium

  • prefect — [[t]pri͟ːfekt[/t]] prefects 1) N COUNT In some schools, especially in Britain, a prefect is an older pupil who does special duties and helps the teachers to control the younger pupils. 2) N COUNT In some countries, a prefect is the head of the… …   English dictionary

  • Prefect —    The title of the governor of Egypt during the Roman Period. The official was directly appointed by the Roman emperor from the equestrian order, namely the nonsenatorial official class. As Egypt supplied most of Rome’s grain, it was essential… …   Ancient Egypt

  • prefect — UK [ˈpriːfekt] / US [ˈprɪˌfekt] noun [countable] Word forms prefect : singular prefect plural prefects 1) in some schools in the UK, an older student who controls the activities of younger students and helps them to obey the rules 2) a public… …   English dictionary

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