sheriff

sher·iff

noun \ˈsher-əf\

Definition of SHERIFF

: an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties (as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)

— sher·iff·dom \-əf-dəm, -təm\ noun

Origin of SHERIFF

Middle English shirreve, from Old English scīrgerēfa, from scīr shire + gerēfa reeve — more at shire, reeve

First Known Use: before 12th century

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

Rhymes with SHERIFF

seraph, serif, teraph

sheriff

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In the U.S., the chief law-enforcement officer for the courts in a county. He is ordinarily elected, and he may appoint a deputy. The sheriff and his deputy have the power of police officers to enforce criminal law and may summon private citizens (the posse comitatus, or “force of the county”) to help maintain the peace. The main judicial duty of the sheriff is to execute processes and writs of the courts. Officers of this name also exist in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. In England the office of sheriff existed before the Norman Conquest (1066).