marshal

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
marshal/ˈmɑːʃl/

▶noun

• 1 an officer of the highest rank in the armed forces of some countries.

  ■ Brit. historical a high-ranking officer of state.

• 2 US a federal or municipal law officer.

  ■ the head of a police department.

  ■ N. Amer. the head of a fire department.

• 3 an official responsible for supervising public events, especially sports events or parades.

• 4 (in the UK) an official accompanying a judge on circuit, with secretarial and social duties.

▶verb (marshals, marshalling, marshalled; US marshals, marshaling, marshaled)

• 1 assemble (a group of people, especially soldiers) in order.

• 2 bring together or arrange in order (facts, information, etc.).

• 3 direct the movement of (an aircraft) on the ground at an airport.

• 4 Heraldry combine (coats of arms), to indicate marriage, descent, or the bearing of office.

– derivatives
marshaller noun,
marshalship noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. mareschal ‘farrier, commander’, from late L. mariscalcus, from Gmc elements meaning ‘horse’ (cf. mare1) and ‘servant’.