Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

bailie

noun bai·lie \ ˈbā-lē \

Definition of bailie

1 chiefly dialectal :bailiff
2 :a Scottish municipal magistrate corresponding to an English alderman

Read the Latest from M-W

image989362072
8 Words for Trickery and Deception
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59e8af1b31525
Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'
alt-59ee3fc46688e
'Dis': From Early Rap to Academic Journals

Origin and Etymology of bailie

Middle English — more at bailiff

Learn More about bailie

  1. See words that rhyme with bailie

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up bailie? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

pelf

play

money or riches

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. imbroglio "a public scandal"

  2. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  3. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  4. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  5. mike "microphone"

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image989362072
8 Words That Put One Over on You

They'll put one over on you

alt-59ee3fc46688e
'Dis': From Early Rap to Academic Journals

The word has quickly taken center stage

alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Where did we get 'freshman' and 'sophomore'?

alt-59e900afadac6
The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

In the past, you could invent fruit.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game