bailiff-errant
noun1
Historical An official employed by the sheriff to carry out summonses, writs etc. within the county.
- The warrant straight was made, and therewithall / A Baylieffe-errant forth in post did passe […].1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- This Return is not good, because this Arrest is the proper Arrest of the Sheriff, and no Credit is to be given to the Bailiff errant.1727, The Compleat Sheriff, page 311:
1 more example
- In 1219, Gilbert le Gluton held land and an oven in Nottingham by sergeancy as a royal bailiff errant.2007, David Roffe, Decoding Domesday, page 122: