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Starosta /ˈstɑːrɒstə/[1] or starost (Cyrillic: старост/а, Latin: capitaneus, German: Starost, Hauptmann) is a community elder in some Slavic lands.
The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadership position in a range of civic and social contexts throughout Central and Eastern Europe. In reference to a municipality, a starosta was historically a senior royal administrative official, equivalent to a county sheriff or seneschal, and analogous to a gubernator. In Poland, a starosta administered crown territory or a district called a starostwo.[2]
In the early Middle Ages, a starosta could head a settled urban or rural community or other community, as in the case of a church starosta or an artel starosta. A starosta also functioned as a master of ceremonies.[citation needed]
- ^ "starosta". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5.
- ^ "Starosta". Encyclopedia of Ukraine.