constabulary meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

constabulary

adj

/kənˈstæbjʊləɹi/

Etymology From mediaeval Latin conestabularia, a noun use of the feminine version of conestabularius, from Latin constabulus, from comes stabuli, literally ‘master of the stables’.

Of or relating to constables.

Characteristic of police; police-like, rather than military.

Constabulary missions are different from fighting wars.

Synonyms: constabular

constabulary

noun

Etymology From mediaeval Latin conestabularia, a noun use of the feminine version of conestabularius, from Latin constabulus, from comes stabuli, literally ‘master of the stables’.

A police force.

The police in a particular district or area.

[…] the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and perhaps had spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XLIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361:
As Hiro is entering their neighborhood, he sees men running down the undulating pontoon bridge that serves as the main street, carrying guns and knives. The local constabulary.1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 385: