A female member of an aldermanry or city council, holding a position of local government authority.
From alder (Anglo-Saxon ealder, meaning 'elder' or 'older') plus woman. An alderman was originally an elder or senior member of a guild or town council, and alderwoman is the female equivalent.
The title 'alderman' originally meant a real elder—these were respected older citizens with wisdom and authority—and the term stuck even as it became a formal political position, which is why 'alderwoman' represents centuries of women breaking into male-dominated government roles.
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