prefect

What it means

1. historicalAn official of Ancient Rome who controlled or superintended a particular command, charge, department, etc.

   the prefect of the aqueducts; the prefect of a camp, of a fleet, of the city guard, or of provisions; the pretorian prefect, who was commander of the troops guarding the emperor's person

   2 more examples

   Or think of a decent young citizen in a toga - perhaps too much dice, you know - coming out here in the train of some prefect, or tax-gatherer, or trader even, to mend his fortunes.

   1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 196

   It seems that in the autumn of 803 he went on leave. His uncle Po Chi-chên, had recently been moved from his post at Hsü-chou and promoted to be Prefect of Hsü-chʻang in Central Honan.

   1951, Arthur Waley, The Life and Times of Po Chü-i, London: George Allen & Unwin, →OCLC, page 33

2. The head of a department in France.
3. The head of a county in Albania or Romania.

In a sentence

the prefect of the aqueducts; the prefect of a camp, of a fleet, of the city guard, or of provisions; the pretorian prefect, who was commander of the troops guarding the emperor's person

Where it comes from

1. Latinpraefectus“one placed in charge, overseer, director, prefect”
2. Old Frenchprefect
3. Middle Englishprefect
4. Englishprefect

From Middle English prefect and prefecte, from Old French prefect (Mod. French préfet), from Latin praefectus (“one placed in charge, overseer, director, prefect”), from praeficere (“to place in charge”).