bailiff

Meaning

1. An officer of the court
2. An officer of the court
3. An officer of the court
4. An officer of the court
5. An officer of the court
6. (obsolete) A public administrator
7. A public administrator
8. A public administrator
9. A public administrator
10. A public administrator
11. A public administrator
12. (obsolete) A public administrator
13. A public administrator
14. A public administrator
15. A public administrator
16. A private administrator, particularly
17. A private administrator, particularly
18. A private administrator, particularly
19. (slang) Any debt collector, regardless of his or her official status.

Synonyms

performer

sheriff

steward

usher

beadle

manager

marshal

catchpole

executor

factor

gripper

lawman

law officer

mayor

process-server

court attendant

office of an alderman

administrator

process server

apparitor

constable

court usher

damselfly

dispossessor

doer

etc.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbeɪlɪf/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: baillif

In summary

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.