市长
shìzhǎng · HSK 2
mayor
🏛️ 市长 = 市 (city/market) + 长 (chief/elder) — the city's chief
市 means city or market; 长 means chief or elder (the senior one). Put together, 市长 is literally city-chief, i.e. mayor. Same 长 appears in 校长 (school chief = principal) and 队长 (team chief = captain).
市 — top 亠 + cloth 巾
Originally a pictograph of a marketplace banner or sign post above a stall, indicating a place of trade. The character came to mean 'market', and by extension 'city' or 'town', since markets were the centers of urban life. The modern form combines a top stroke with 巾 (cloth/banner).
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.