noun, verb — 4 senses
/ˈʃɛɹɪf/ · /ˈʃɛɹəf/
Etymology Inherited from Middle English shirreve, in turn inherited from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour with cognates in other languages, including Persian, Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.
UK (High Sheriff) An official of a shire or county office, responsible for carrying out court orders, law enforcement and other duties.
Except Scotland
Scotland A judge in the sheriff court, the court of a county or sheriffdom.
US A government official, usually responsible for law enforcement in their county and for administration of the county jail, sometimes an officer of the court, usually elected.
Etymology Inherited from Middle English shirreve, in turn inherited from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour with cognates in other languages, including Persian, Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.
To carry out the duties of a sheriff.
Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.