Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Heemraad \Heem"raad`\, n.; pl. {-raaden}. [Sometimes,
   incorrectly, {Heemraat} or even {Heemrad}.] [D. heem village
   + raad council, councilor.]
   In Holland, and, until the 19th century, also in Cape Colony,
   a council to assist a local magistrate in the government of
   rural districts; hence, also, a member of such a council.