bailiff
noun/ˈbeɪlɪf/
Etymology 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.
19 senses
- 1A reeve, (specifically) the chief officer executing the…
- 2A high bailiff: an officer of the county courts…
- 3A bound bailiff: a deputy bailiff charged with debt collection.
- 4Any law enforcement officer charged with courtroom…
- 5A huissier de justice or other foreign officer of the…
- 6A king's man: any officer nominated by the English Crown.
- 7Synonym of hundredman: The chief officer of a hundred in…
- 8The title of the mayor of certain English towns.
- 9The title of the castellan of certain royal castles in England.
- 10The chief justice and president of the legislature on…
- 11The High Bailiff of the Isle of Man.
- 12A bailie: an alderman in certain Scottish towns.
- 13An appointee of the French king administering certain…
- 14A head of a district ("bailiwick") of the Knights…
- 15A landvogt in the medieval German states.
- 16A steward: the manager of a medieval manor charged with…
- 17An overseer: a supervisor of tenant farmers, serfs, or…
- 18The foreman or overman of a mine.
- 19Any debt collector, regardless of his or her official status.
› An officer of the court
Government, Law enforcement Historical A reeve, (specifically) the chief officer executing the decisions of any English court in the period following the Norman Conquest or executing the decisions of lower courts in the late medieval and early modern period.
Government, Law enforcement UK A high bailiff: an officer of the county courts responsible for executing warrants and court orders, appointed by the judge and removable by the Lord Chancellor.
Government, Law enforcement UK A bound bailiff: a deputy bailiff charged with debt collection.
Government, Law enforcement US Any law enforcement officer charged with courtroom security and order.
Government, Law enforcement A huissier de justice or other foreign officer of the court acting as either a process server or as courtroom security.
› A public administrator
Obsolete A king's man: any officer nominated by the English Crown.
Historical Synonym of hundredman: The chief officer of a hundred in medieval England.
The title of the mayor of certain English towns.
The title of the castellan of certain royal castles in England.
The chief justice and president of the legislature on Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Islands.
- The Bailiff of Jersey is the President of the States and acts as Speaker of the Assembly in the Westminster tradition. He is responsible for the orderly conduct of the States Assembly and its business. As Presiding Officer he has the right of speech – which is mainly exercised for ensuring the orderly conduct of the proceedings – but he cannot vote.2011 June 29, “The Bailiff of Jersey”, in States Assembly, retrieved 03 Mar 2013:
The High Bailiff of the Isle of Man.
Obsolete A bailie: an alderman in certain Scottish towns.
Historical An appointee of the French king administering certain districts of northern France in the Middle Ages.
Historical A head of a district ("bailiwick") of the Knights Hospitaller; a head of one of the national associations ("tongues") of the Hospitallers' headquarters on Rhodes or Malta.
Historical A landvogt in the medieval German states.
› A private administrator, particularly
Historical A steward: the manager of a medieval manor charged with collecting its rents, etc.
Historical An overseer: a supervisor of tenant farmers, serfs, or slaves, usually as part of his role as steward (see above).
- Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Business, Mining Historical The foreman or overman of a mine.
- Synonyms
- high bailiff, high-bailiff, warrant officer, beadle, catchpoll, bumbailiff, process server, High-bailiff, High Bailiff, mayor, castellan, bailly, bailie, consul, capitoul, jurat, landvogt, steward, overseer
- Derived terms
- bailiff-errant, bailiff-haunted, bailiff-peer, bailiffry, bailiffship, bailiffwick, bumbailiff, bum-bailiff, bum bailiff, deputy bailiff, deputy high bailiff, Deputy High Bailiff, farm bailiff, High-bailiff, High Bailiff, jury bailiff, private bailiff, provincial bailiff, subbailiff, underbailiff, under-bailiff, water bailiff
- Related terms
- bail, bailing, bailee, bailer, bailey, bailie, bailiery, bailiary, bailiric, bailivate, bailiwick, bailliage, baillie, bailly, reeve
- Hyponyms
- bumbailiff, circuit court bailiff, district court bailiff, farm bailiff, ground bailiff, jury bailiff, magistrates' bailiff, private bailiff, provincial bailiff