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sheriffdom

 - 3 dictionary results

sher⋅iff

  [sher-if]
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–noun
1. the law-enforcement officer of a county or other civil subdivision of a state.
2. (formerly) an important civil officer in an English shire.
Origin:
bef. 1050; ME sher(r)ef, OE scīrgerēfa. See shire, reeve 1

Related forms:
sher⋅iff⋅dom  [sher-if-duhm] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

sheriff 
late O.E. scirgerefa "representative of royal authority in a shire," from scir (see shire) + gerefa "chief, official, reeve" (see reeve). In Anglo-Saxon England, the representative of royal authority in a shire. As an American county official, attested from 1662; sheriff's sale first recorded 1798.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: sher·iff
Function: noun
Etymology: Old English scIrgerEfa, from scIr shire + gerEfa reeve (king's agent)
: an official of a county or parish charged primarily with judicial duties (as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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