Word of the Day

Wednesday, May 02, 2001

bailiwick

\BAY-luh-wik\ , noun;

A person's specific area of knowledge, authority, interest, skill, or work.

The office or district of a bailiff.

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Quotes:

I'll give it a try, but this is not my bailiwick.

-- Sue Grafton, 'L' Is for Lawless

He "professed ignorance, as of something outside my bailiwick."

-- Marc Aronson, "Wharton and the House of Scribner: The Novelist as a Pain in the Neck", New York Times, January 2, 1994

Fund-raising was Cliff's bailiwick, anyway, and he seemed to have it in hand.

-- Curt Sampson, The Masters

Origin:

Bailiwick comes from Middle English baillifwik, from baillif, "bailiff" (ultimately from Latin bajulus, "porter, carrier") + wik, "town," from Old English wic, from Latin vicus, "village."