provost Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a high-ranking university administrator

WordNet

Prov"ost noun
Etymology
OF. provost (L. prae and pro being confused), F. prevôt, fr. L. praepositus placed before, a chief, fr. praeponere to place before: cf. AS. prafost, pr&omac;fast. See Preposition, and cf. Propound.
Definitions
  1. A person who is appointed to superintend, or preside over, something; the chief magistrate in some cities and towns; as, the provost of Edinburgh or of Glasgow, answering to the mayor of other cities; the provost of a college, answering to president; the provost or head of certain collegiate churches.
  2. The keeper of a prison. Obs. Shak. ✍ In France, formerly, a provost was an inferior judge who had cognizance of civil causes. The grand provost of France, or of the household, had jurisdiction in the king's house, and over its officers.

Webster 1913