Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A university administrator of high rank.
- n. The highest official in certain cathedrals or collegiate churches.
- n. The keeper of a prison.
- n. The chief magistrate of certain Scottish cities.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who is appointed to superintend or preside over something; the chief or head of certain bodies. The head of one of certain colleges (as of Oriel, Queen's, etc., in the university of Oxford, of King's College, Cambridge, Eton College, etc.): equivalent to principal in other colleges.
- n. The keeper of a prison; a chief jailer.
- n. Formerly, one holding a position in the English schools of fence higher than that of scholar and lower than that of master.
- n. A temporary prison in which the military police confine prisoners until they are disposed of.
- n. In the navy, an officer who is charged with the safe-keeping of a prisoner, pending his trial by a court martial, and who is responsible for his production before the court whenever his presence is required.
Wiktionary
- n. The equivalent of mayor in some Scottish cities.
- n. A senior academic administrator; sometimes called the Vice-President of Academic Affairs.
- n. The highest position in a monastery below an abbot.
- n. A prison keeper, especially in the military.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A person who is appointed to superintend, or preside over, something; the chief magistrate in some cities and towns
- n. The keeper of a prison.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a high-ranking university administrator
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Old English profost and Old French provost, both from Medieval Latin prōpositus, alteration of Latin praepositus, person placed over others, superintendent, from past participle of praepōnere, to place over : prae-, pre- + pōnere, to put; see apo- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“At present the chief dignity of a chapter is usually styled dean, though in some countries, as in England, the term provost is applied to him.”
“At Taunton, the rebels killed, in their fury, an officious and eager commissioner of the subsidy, whom they called the provost of Perin.”
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part C. From Henry VII. to Mary
“A distinguished professor and well-known expert on New Mexico politics, Garcia served from 1987 to 1990 as vice president of academic affairs, a position now called provost.”
USA Today: Ex-university head arrested in prostitution sting
“Parents today call the provost to complain about a grade on a daughter's paper, or the president to talk about a room assignment.”
The Huffington Post: Lee Woodruff: College Advice Blog, Part III: Life After Drop-Off
“In view of the reduced size of the Folklore department and its lack of a chairman, we—that is, the provost—has decided that the best solution would be to merge this department with Anthropology.”
“I try to imagine the scene, some random faculty member about to, say, light a joint at home, some Saturday morning at 1am, calling the provost to make sure he's informed.”
“The provost was a former natural scientist, and he greeted me with a mournful countenance.”
“I ` m called a provost and so I guess it ` s like a principal and I ` m half administrator and half teacher.”
“If the provost thought they were deserters, then the provost was a fool.”
Sharpe's Gold
“Oriel College, Oxford, and this connection was confirmed by Parliament in the same year, though it has, of course, to lapse when, as has been the case, the provost is a layman.”
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