(in ancient Greece) one of a board of senior magistrates in any of several Dorian states, esp the five Spartan ephors, who were elected by vote of all full citizens and who wielded effective power
Derived forms
ephoral (ˈephoral)
adjective
ephorate (ˈephorate)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Greek ephoros, from ephoran to supervise, from epi- + horan to look
ephor in American English
(ˈɛfˌɔr)
nounWord forms: pluralˈephors or ˈephoˌri (ˈɛfoʊˌraɪ)
in ancient Sparta, any of a body of five magistrates annually elected by the people of Sparta
Word origin
L ephorus < Gr ephoros, overseer < ephoran < epi-, over + horan, to see < IE *woros, attentive < base *wer-, to heed > warn