(c.1300) "steward or manager of a household;" also "a provider" (late 13c. as a surname), from Old French procuratour "attorney, agent, proxy, spokesman" (13c., Modern French procurateur) or directly from Latin procurator "manager, overseer, agent, deputy," agent noun from past participle stem of procurare (see procure). Related: Procuracy; procuration; procuratory.
government financial agent in ancient Rome. From the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 BC-AD 14), procurators were regularly appointed to official posts in the imperial administration of the provinces or in the departments of the imperial government concerning such matters as the grain supply, the mint, and the mines. Procurators of provinces supervised imperial finances in their respective jurisdictions. In imperial provinces the procurator served under a legate; in senatorial provinces he exercised more authority within the administration of the governor and his quaestor