['pri:tә]
n.
执政官, 长官

[ noun ]
an annually elected magistrate of the ancient Roman Republic
<noun.person>

Pretor \Pre"tor\, n. [L. praetor, for praeitor, fr. praeire to
go before; prae before + ire to go. See {Issue}.]
1. (Rom. Antiq.) 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.