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tipstaff

 [tip-staf, -stahf]   Origin

tip·staff

   [tip-staf, -stahf]
noun, plural -staves  [-steyvz] , -staffs.
1.
an attendant or crier in a court of law.
2.
a staff tipped with metal, formerly carried as a badge of office, as by a constable.
3.
any official who carried such a staff.
Origin:
1535–45; shortened form of earlier tipped staff; see tip1, -ed3, staff1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Tipstaff is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
tipstaff (ˈtɪpˌstɑːf)
 
—n
1.  a court official having miscellaneous duties, mostly concerned with the maintenance of order in court
2.  a metal-tipped staff formerly used as a symbol of office
 
[C16 tipped staff; see tip1, staff1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tipstaff
1540s, "tipped staff" (truncheon with a tip or cap of metal) carried as an emblem of office, from tip (n.) + staff. As the name of an official who carries one (esp. a sheriff's officer, bailiff, constable, court crier, etc.) it is recorded from 1560s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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