Landdrost (Dutch: [ˈlɑn(t).drɔst] ) was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with land meaning "region" and drost, from Middle Dutch drossāte (droes-state, bloke-castle, state-holder) which originally referred to a lord’s chief retainer (who later became the medieval seneschal or steward), equivalent to: