intendant

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a public administrator or governor, especially an official in historical France, Spain, Portugal, or their colonies

   The provincial intendant reported on roads, taxes, and uncultivated land to the crown.

2. 2
   noun

   the administrative director of an opera house, theater, or similar cultural institution

   The opera's intendant announced the program for the coming season.

Borrowed from French intendant, an administrative title, from the present participle of intendre, 'to direct or supervise,' ultimately from Latin intendere, 'to stretch toward, direct, or attend to.' The title became associated with royal provincial officials and later with managers of cultural institutions.

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