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noun, verb, -shaled, -shal⋅ing or (especially British
) -shalled, -shal⋅ling.| 1. | a military officer of the highest rank, as in the French and some other armies. Compare field marshal. |
| 2. | an administrative officer of a U.S. judicial district who performs duties similar to those of a sheriff. |
| 3. | a court officer serving processes, attending court, giving personal service to the judges, etc. |
| 4. | the chief of a police or fire department in some cities. |
| 5. | a police officer in some communities. |
| 6. | sky marshal. |
| 7. | a higher officer of a royal household or court. |
| 8. | an official charged with the arrangement or regulation of ceremonies, parades, etc.: the marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade. |
| 9. | to arrange in proper order; set out in an orderly manner; arrange clearly: to marshal facts; to marshal one's arguments. |
| 10. | to array, as for battle. |
| 11. | to usher or lead ceremoniously: Their host marshaled them into the room. |
| 12. | Heraldry. to combine (two or more coats of arms) on a single escutcheon. |

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| 1. | Alfred, 1842–1924, English economist. |
| 2. | George C(at⋅lett) [kat-lit] , 1880–1959, U.S. general and statesman: Secretary of State 1947–49; Nobel peace prize 1953. |
| 3. | John, 1755–1835, U.S. jurist and statesman: Chief Justice of the U.S. 1801–35. |
| 4. | Thomas Riley, 1854–1925, vice president of the U.S. 1913–21. |
| 5. | Thur⋅good [thur-goo d] , 1908–93, U.S. jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1967–91. |
| 6. | a city in NE Texas. 24,921. |
| 7. | a town in central Missouri. 12,781. |
| 8. | a town in SW Minnesota. 11,161. |
| 9. | Also, Marshal. a male given name. |
mar·shal (mär'shəl) n.
v. tr.
[Middle English, from Old French mareschal, of Germanic origin.] mar'shal·cy, mar'shal·ship' n. Word History: Hard-riding marshals of the Wild West in pursuit of criminals reemphasize the relationship of the word marshal with horses. The Germanic ancestor of our word marshal is a compound made up of *marhaz, "horse" (related to the source of our word mare), and *skalkaz, "servant," meaning as a whole literally "horse servant," hence "groom." The Frankish descendant of this Germanic word, *marahskalk, came to designate a high royal official and also a high military commander—not surprising given the importance of the horse in medieval warfare. Along with many other Frankish words, *marahskalk was borrowed into Old French by about 800; some centuries later, when the Normans established a French-speaking official class in England, the Old French word came with them. In English, marshal is first recorded in 1218, as a surname (still surviving in the spelling Marshall); its first appearance as a common noun was in 1258, in the sense "high officer of the royal court." The word was also applied to this high royal official's deputies, who were officers of courts of law, and it continued to designate various officials involved with courts of law and law enforcement, including the horseback-riding marshals we are familiar with in the United States. |
marshal
in some past and present armies, including those of Britain, France, Germany, Russia or the Soviet Union, and China, the highest ranking officer. The rank evolved from the title of marescalci (masters of the horse) of the early Frankish kings. The importance of cavalry in medieval warfare led to the marshalship being associated with a command position; this rank came to include the duties of keeping order at court and in camp and of deciding questions of chivalry. As a military leader the marshal was originally subordinate to the constable in the various states of western Europe. By the 13th century, however, the marshal was rapidly coming to prominence as a commander of the royal forces and a great officer of state
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