bailiff
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bailiff /ˈbeɪlɪf/
▶noun
- 1 a sheriff's officer who executes writs and processes and carries out distraints and arrests.
- 2 Brit. the agent of a landlord.
- 3 N. Amer. an official in a court of law who keeps order and looks after prisoners.
- 4 Brit. historical the sovereign's representative in a district, especially the chief officer of a hundred.
- 5 the first civil officer in the Channel Islands.
– origin ME: from OFr. baillif, inflected form of bailli (see bailie), based on L. bajulus ‘carrier, manager’.
'bailiff' also found in these Oxford entries:
bailie
- bailiwick
- bum-bailiff
- dun
- grieve
- officer
- process server
- tipstaff
- water bailiff
