caid

1. (historical) A local governor or leader, especially in North Africa or Moorish Spain; an alcaide.Examples: "Having taken over the land, the caids procured labour for themselves by conscripting people for forced farm work, calling the practice a form of Touiza, which was a centuries-old practice of mutual help in the rural areas."; "This results in frequent and severe conflicts which, if the provincial governor and the caid are unable to resolve them, are taken to the Ministry of the Interior in Rabat. The office of caid can be considered an extension of the province head."; "Most of the process was in the hands of the caids who drew up first estimates of the taxable wealth. Then the local head of the Bureau Arab looked over these figures for the final fiscal census. This gave the caid much power."historical