Link Centre Dictionary

bailiff

bai·liff

UK/ˈbeɪlɪf/ US/ˈbeɪlɪf/ fairly common slang uk us

noun

1.

an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc.

Origin

From Middle English baillif, baylyf, from Anglo-Norman and Old French bailif (plural bailis), probably from Vulgar Latin *bāiulivus (“castellan”), from Latin bāiulus (“porter; steward”), whence also bail. As a translation of foreign titles, semantic loan from French bailli, Scots bailie, Dutch baljuw, etc. Mostly replaced the role of native reeve. Doublet of bailo.

Phrases

  • bum bailiff
  • deputy bailiff
  • deputy high bailiff
  • farm bailiff
  • High Bailiff
  • jury bailiff
  • private bailiff

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.