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.

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