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con⋅sta⋅ble

[kon-stuh-buh

l or, especially Brit., kuhn-]

–noun

1.	an officer of the peace, having police and minor judicial functions, usually in a small town, rural district, etc.

2.	Chiefly British. a police officer.

3.	an officer of high rank in medieval monarchies, usually the commander of all armed forces, esp. in the absence of the ruler.

4.	the keeper or governor of a royal fortress or castle.

Origin:
1200–50; ME conestable < AF, OF < LL comes stabulī count ² of the stable ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Language Translation for : Constable

Spanish:

policía, guardia, agente de policía,

German:

der Schutzmann,

Japanese:

警官

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Con⋅sta⋅ble

[kuhn-stuh-buh

l, kon-]

–noun

John, 1776–1837, English painter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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con·sta·ble (kŏn'stə-bəl, kŭn'-) Pronunciation Key
n. Abbr. Cons. or Const.

A peace officer with less authority and smaller jurisdiction than a sheriff, empowered to serve writs and warrants and make arrests.
A medieval officer of high rank, usually serving as military commander in the absence of a monarch.
The governor of a royal castle.
Chiefly British A police officer.

[Middle English, from Old French conestable, from Late Latin comes stabulī, officer of the stable : Latin comes, officer, companion; see ei- in Indo-European roots + Latin stabulī, genitive of stabulum, stable; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

con'sta·ble·ship' n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Con·sta·ble (kŭn'stə-bəl, kŏn'-) Pronunciation Key
British landscape painter whose use of broken color influenced later French painters. The Hay Wain (1821) is his best-known work.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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constable

c.1200, from O.Fr. conestable, principal officer of the Frankish king's household, from L.L. comes stabuli, lit. "count of the stable" (established by Theodosian Code, c.438 C.E.), hence, "chief groom." Probably a translation of a Gmc. word. Meaning "an officer of the peace" is from 1597, transferred to "police officer" 1836.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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constable
noun
1.	a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff
2.	English landscape painter (1776-1837)
3.	a police officer of the lowest rank

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Constable, NY Zip code(s): 12926

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Constable

Con"sta*ble\ (k[u^]n"st[.a]*b'l), n. [OE. conestable, constable, a constable (in sense 1), OF. conestable, F. conn['e]table, LL. conestabulus, constabularius, comes stabuli, orig., count of the stable, master of the horse, equerry; comes count (L. companion) + L. stabulum stable. See Count a nobleman, and Stable.]

1. A high officer in the monarchical establishments of the Middle Ages.

Note: The constable of France was the first officer of the crown, and had the chief command of the army. It was also his duty to regulate all matters of chivalry. The office was suppressed in 1627. The constable, or lord high constable, of England, was one of the highest officers of the crown, commander in chief of the forces, and keeper of the peace of the nation. He also had judicial cognizance of many important matters. The office was as early as the Conquest, but has been disused (except on great and solemn occasions), since the attainder of Stafford, duke of Buckingham, in the reign of Henry VIII.

2. (Law) An officer of the peace having power as a conservator of the public peace, and bound to execute the warrants of judicial officers. --Bouvier.

Note: In England, at the present time, the constable is a conservator of the peace within his district, and is also charged by various statutes with other duties, such as serving summons, precepts, warrants, etc. In the United States, constables are town or city officers of the peace, with powers similar to those of the constables of England. In addition to their duties as conservators of the peace, they are invested with others by statute, such as to execute civil as well as criminal process in certain cases, to attend courts, keep juries, etc. In some cities, there are officers called high constables, who act as chiefs of the constabulary or police force. In other cities the title of constable, as well as the office, is merged in that of the police officer.

High constable, a constable having certain duties and powers within a hundred. [Eng.]

Petty constable, a conservator of the peace within a parish or tithing; a tithingman. [Eng.]

Special constable, a person appointed to act as constable of special occasions.

To overrun, or outrun, the constable, to spend more than one's income; to get into debt. [Colloq.] --Smollett.