alderman
‘man of noble or high rank’
Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:
E. aldirman, alderman, alderman, alderman < O.E. aldormonn (Merc.), ealdormann (We.S.) ‘Anglo-Saxon ruler, prince, chief; chief officer of a shire’ < aldor, ealder ‘patriarch’ < ald (A.) eald (We.S., Kent.) ‘antique, of ancient origin, belonging to antiquity, primeval; long in existence or use; near the end of the normal span of life; elder, mature, experienced’ < Proto-G. althaz ‘grown up, adult’ + monn, mann ‘man’ < awl < al- < Tamil al