Amtmann

English

Etymology

From German Amtmann.

Noun

Amtmann (plural Amtmenn)

1. (historical) An official in German-speaking countries of Europe in the Middle Ages, similar to a bailiff.
   • 1869 November, “A Hero of Waterloo”, in The Odd Fellow's Companion, page 252:

     The Amtmann promised to be silent. Forthwith he made his report about the discovery of the hero, abstaining from all allusion to the rum.

   • 1875, Richard Francis Burton, Ultima Thule: Or, A Summer in Iceland, volume 1, page 119:

     Under the Sýslumenn and appointed by the Amtmenn are the Hreppstjórar or Hreppstjórnarmenn, bailiffs and poor-inspectors with parochial jurisdiction.

   • 2016, Katherine Brun, The Abbot and his Peasants: Territorial Formation in Salem from the Later Middle Ages to the Thirty Years War:

     Political connections were also established when two sisters or other female kin each married an Amtmann, making them in-laws by marriage.

Further reading

• Amtmann on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

German

Etymology

Amt +‎ Mann

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈamtˌman/
• Hyphenation: Amt‧mann

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Amtmann m (strong, genitive Amtmannes or Amtmanns, plural Amtmänner or Amtleute, feminine Amtfrau or Amtmännin)

1. (historical) bailiff
2. (modern usage) title of a Beamter ("Public servant") in the upper service after second promotion

Usage notes

The title is always preceded by a prefix. The most common prefix is Regierungs- ("in government administration"), in which case the full title is Regierungsamtmann.
In terms of hierarchy, an Amtmann is comparable to a Hauptmann (captain) or Kapitänleutnant (lieutenant).

Declension

Declension of Amtmann [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Amtmann	die	Amtmänner, Amtleute
genitive	eines	des	Amtmannes, Amtmanns	der	Amtmänner, Amtleute
dative	einem	dem	Amtmann, Amtmanne1	den	Amtmännern, Amtleuten
accusative	einen	den	Amtmann	die	Amtmänner, Amtleute

¹Now rare, see notes.

Further reading

• “Amtmann” in Duden online
• Beamter on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Regierungsamtmann on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de