Talk:Alderman

Alderman rarely used in Canada?
This is patently untrue -- the term "alderman" continues to be used in much of western Canada. Rhombus 21:37, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Noninformative
But just what do aldermen do? (examples needed). Is this a paid, full time position, of the type sought for among young professional politicians, or an after work responsibility taken on a civic minded citizen?

--Philopedia 10:00, 7 February 2007 (UTC)


 * In the London Boroughs up until the abolition of the role in 1974, aldermen had exactly the same rights and responsibilities as councillors. The only difference was that councillors were elected by the public while aldermen were co-opted by the council. I would guess that the case was similar elsewhere. In the UK, although local government is often the foundation of political a career (eg Richard Crossman, Margaret Hodge, David Blunkett) it is not generally seen as being a full-time occupation, although there are those for whom it is just that. BTLizard 11:38, 5 April 2007 (UTC)


 * And most importantly, just how much power they have. I remember a comedy sketch that implied that aldermen are the least powerful of all politicians (at least, in some jurisdictions). Why is it, then, that a former alderman I used to know was subjected to mafia-like intimidation tactics when he fought corruption at city hall? I think this article could benefit from some material that would help understand that. 99.240.84.29 (talk) 03:36, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Literal translation of alderman
Alderman is derived from two Anglo-Saxon words ealdor - meaning older or in some cases wise and man the Anglo-Saxon word for person, as in the word mankind which translates to personkind. No-one would argue that mankind refers to all persons and therefore gender neutral word as is alderman which has only recently, in the world of so-called political correctness, been judged to relate only to men and therefore been largely expunged from use. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.53.123.102 (talk) 01:09, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Which parts of the world
At the beginning, when is said it happens in many jurisdictions, would be pleasant to say there in which parts of the world that is true. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.136.97.105 (talk) 13:11, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Old English and "man"
"man" and "men" are indefinite pronouns. "Man" is someone, "men" is people in general. But "man" is also a noun, and without the Germanic prefix "wyf" this noun never means a woman. (You can see that there is a noun and a pronoun if you realize that the noun takes articles the definite article ("se man") and the pronoun doesn't. --VKokielov (talk) 20:38, 20 January 2010 (UTC)


 * heyItalic 75.111.33.21 (talk) 18:54, 21 April 2023 (UTC)

Alderman can be an ordinary council member
I dispute the accuracy of this sentence: "The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, or denote a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote." The footnote does not support this sentence. The sentence implies that aldermen are only "high-ranking" or "chosen by elected members themselves", but in some places an ordinary council member is called an "alderman" and is voted in directly by voters. I'm going to amend this sentence to reflect the dictionary definition referenced in the footnote. Schildewaert (talk) 23:12, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Comment
Reference #3 is 404ing — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.34.52.201 (talk) 04:12, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

Finland not a Germanic country
It is stated that "Similar titles exist in other Germanic countries". While the word "Oltermanni" is a loan word in Finnish with Germanic roots, Finland itself is not a Germanic country. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.237.134.161 (talk) 10:06, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

Relationship to the Hanseatic League Ältermann?
Hello, I wondered if the spread of this title across the North Sea and Baltic Sea has to do with the Hanseatic League, as they also had a similar name Ältermann/Aldermann/Eldermann for their elects. At least, I guess the same term is not a coincidence, and the usage in this context could be mentioned as well. If there is a relationship to this, a link to the German Wikipedia site on this Ältermann should be established: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ältermann. --2A02:21B0:644C:1FDF:7C1C:491C:1C1C:96A6 (talk) 17:53, 14 March 2020 (UTC)


 * I just mention that we have two links to Ältermann--Estopedist1 (talk) 13:06, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * and respective Wikidata entry: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20817246 Estopedist1 (talk) 09:34, 13 February 2024 (UTC)