Bailiff
['beɪlɪf] or ['belɪf]
Definition
(noun.) an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc..
Checker: Maisie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Originally, a person put in charge of something especially, a chief officer, magistrate, or keeper, as of a county, town, hundred, or castle; one to whom power/ of custody or care are intrusted.
(n.) A sheriff's deputy, appointed to make arrests, collect fines, summon juries, etc.
(n.) An overseer or under steward of an estate, who directs husbandry operations, collects rents, etc.
Typist: Melville
Definition
n. formerly any king's officer e.g. sheriffs mayors &c. but applied specially to the chief officer of a hundred still the title of the chief magistrate of various towns (e.g. High-bailiff of Westminster cf. Bailiff of Dover Castle also the bailly or first civil officer of the Channel Islands: a sheriff's officer: an agent or land-steward.—n. Bail′iwick the jurisdiction of a bailiff.
Checker: Lorenzo
Unserious Contents or Definition
Shows a striving for a higher place, and a deficiency in intellect. If the bailiff comes to arrest, or make love, false friends are trying to work for your money.
Edited by Gail
Examples
- Unseen by the spy, Mr. Cruncher stood at his side, and touched him on the shoulder like a ghostly bailiff. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Some years later, on the Monday as it might be, my lady says, Sir John, your bailiff is a stupid old man. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- To-day I was all for continuing to be farm-bailiff; to-morrow, on the authority of ROBINSON CRUSOE, I should be all the other way. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Nor will the bailiff or the constable enter; for _Industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them_. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Afterwards, they universally found it convenient to delegate it to some substitute, bailiff, or judge. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- My lady got me put under the bailiff, and I did my best, and gave satisfaction, and got promotion accordingly. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- On the Tuesday as it might be, Sir John says, My lady, the bailiff is pensioned liberally; and Gabriel Betteredge has got his place. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- As for me, I went on with my business as bailiff year after year up to Christmas 1847, when there came a change in my life. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Did you ever see a dun, my dear; or a bailiff and his man? William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- It was a lady whom he let in at the bailiff's door. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- And I have been lingering about,' added Eugene, 'like a bailiff; or,' with a look at Riah, 'an old clothesman. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Coavinses has been arrested by the Great Bailiff, said Mr. Skimpole. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- They universally, therefore, discharged themselves of it, by appointing a deputy, bailiff or judge. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- I am going to have an interview with my bailiff, and you may thank your stars, my friend, you are a poet, and not a landed proprietor. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- When he exercised it by a bailiff, indeed, redress might sometimes be had. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- He was in the hands of the bailiffs. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The bailiffs and brokers seized upon poor Raggles in Curzon Street, and the late fair tenant of that poor little mansion was in the meanwhile--where? William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
Editor: Paula