SELECTMEN
Noun
selectmen
plural of selectman
Source: Wiktionary
SELECTMAN
Se*lect"man, n.; pl. Selectmen (.
Definition: One of a board of town officers chosen annually in the New
England States to transact the general public business of the town,
and have a kind of executive authority. The number is usually from
three to seven in each town.
The system of delegated town action was then, perhaps, the same which
was defined in an "order made in 1635 by the inhabitants of
Charlestown at a full meeting for the government of the town, by
selectmen;" the name presently extended throughout New England to
municipal governors. Palfrey.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition