marshal

1 of 2

noun

mar·​shal ˈmär-shəl How to pronounce marshal (audio)
variants or less commonly marshall
1
a
: a high official in the household of a medieval king, prince, or noble originally having charge of the cavalry but later usually in command of the military forces
b
: a person who arranges and directs the ceremonial aspects of a gathering
a parade marshal
2
b
: a general officer of the highest military rank
3
a
: an officer having charge of prisoners
b(1)
: a ministerial (see ministerial sense 3) officer appointed for a judicial district (as of the U.S.) to execute the process of the courts and perform various duties similar to those of a sheriff
(2)
: a city law officer entrusted with particular duties
c
: the administrative head of a city police department or fire department
marshalcy noun
marshalship noun

marshal

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly marshall
marshaled or marshalled; marshaling or marshalling ˈmärsh-(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce marshal (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to place in proper rank or position
marshaling the troops
2
: to bring together and order in an appropriate or effective way
marshal arguments
marshaled her thoughts before answering the question
3
: to lead ceremoniously or solicitously : usher
marshaling her little group of children down the street

intransitive verb

: to take form or order
ideas marshaling neatly

Did you know?

Marshal Has Old German Roots

Although most French words are derived from Latin, a few—among them marshal—are Germanic. In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the Germanic Franks occupied what is now France and left behind a substantial linguistic legacy, including what became medieval French mareschal. Mareschal came from a Frankish compound noun corresponding to Old High German marahscal, composed of marah, meaning "horse" (Old English mearh, with a feminine form mere, whence English mare), and scalc, meaning "servant" (Old English scealc). The original marshal was a servant in charge of horses, but by the time the word was borrowed from French into English in the 14th century, it referred primarily to a high royal official.

Choose the Right Synonym for marshal

order, arrange, marshal, organize, systematize, methodize mean to put persons or things into their proper places in relation to each other.

order suggests a straightening out so as to eliminate confusion.

ordered her business affairs

arrange implies a setting in sequence, relationship, or adjustment.

arranged the files numerically

marshal suggests gathering and arranging in preparation for a particular operation or effective use.

marshaling the facts for argument

organize implies arranging so that the whole aggregate works as a unit with each element having a proper function.

organized the volunteers into teams

systematize implies arranging according to a predetermined scheme.

systematized billing procedures

methodize suggests imposing an orderly procedure rather than a fixed scheme.

methodizes every aspect of daily living

Examples of marshal in a Sentence

Verb She carefully marshaled her thoughts before answering the question. marshaled their forces for battle
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Duncan said the fire marshal last inspected in May 2022 and found nothing notable. Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 5 Mar. 2024 And decades later, President Grover Cleveland appointed Shelby as U.S. marshal for the Western District of Missouri. Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 2 Feb. 2024 Sunday: Pryor captured Pryor was captured Sunday by marshals, who will hand him over to police homicide detectives, Sgt. Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024 Playing the first Black U.S. deputy marshal west of the Mississippi River in Paramount+'s Lawmen: Bass Reeves was a dream more than eight years in the making for Oyelowo, 47, who also executive-produced the series withYellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 8 Jan. 2024 The City Manager’s Office told The Arizona Republic on Monday that building inspectors, structural engineers, the fire marshal, the mayor and the city manager will be involved in the ongoing process. The Arizona Republic, 19 Feb. 2024 The judge and a courtroom marshal suffered injuries and were taken to a hospital, according to a spokeswoman for the Eighth Judicial District Court. Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2024 Four federal marshals — two ahead of them, two behind — escorted her and her mother to the school every day. Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2024 Kim George, fire marshal at the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Department, said by email that deputies reached the woman in the morning and contacted her agency. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 29 Jan. 2024
Verb
In Washington, attention was focused on chaos in Congress; in much of Europe, the top priority was marshaling continued support for Ukraine. TIME, 29 Feb. 2024 Biographies and history books now recount how Black Panther outposts around the nation marshaled volunteers to develop healthy food options, raise money to buy ingredients and then cook the meals. Cathie Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2024 On the whole, Dent found the way that Jewish religious law had been marshaled against FAB distasteful. Rebecca Panovka, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 The 24-point lawyers responded, marshaling 58 pages of argument and exhibits in support of their spacing. Derek H. Kiernan-Johnson, The Conversation, 1 Feb. 2024 The city has marshaled resources for the new arrivals, but after Congress rejected a deal aimed at slowing the flow of migrants, its support system is starting to buckle. Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024 The purpose, rather, is to showcase Weathers’s all-rounder versatility, marshaling the charm and athleticism for which he was known already and the comedic gifts for which he’d be cherished later. Chris Klimek, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024 So, instead of trying to spread everything out over a weekend, maybe a single, blockbuster event with all of the resources marshaled to get names that guarantee packed venues? Preston Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024 But marshaling the resources to get his name on ballots in every state will be a challenge, as will sustaining a national campaign over the next year. TIME, 16 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'marshal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French mareschal, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German marahscalc marshal, from marah horse + scalc servant

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of marshal was in the 13th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near marshal

Cite this Entry

“Marshal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marshal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

marshal

1 of 2 noun
mar·​shal ˈmär-shəl How to pronounce marshal (audio)
1
a
: a high official in a royal household in the Middle Ages
b
: a person who arranges and directs ceremonies or parades
2
: an officer of the highest rank in some military forces
3
a
: a federal official having duties similar to those of a sheriff
b
: the head of a division of a city government
fire marshal

marshal

2 of 2 verb
marshaled or marshalled; marshaling or marshalling
ˈmärsh-(ə-)liŋ
1
: to arrange in order
marshal troops
2
: to lead with ceremony : usher
marshaling the group of children down the street
Etymology

Noun

Middle English marshal "a high officer in the king's household," from early French mareschal (same meaning), literally "horse servant"; of Germanic origin

Word Origin
Although most French words come from Latin, some are the result of the Germanic occupation of France in the third century a.d. In early French the word mareschal, literally meaning "horse servant," was such a word. By the Middle English period, a mareschal in French was a high royal official. English borrowed the word to name a similar position in England. Much later, marshal was used in England as the title of a high-ranking military officer. It is because of this use that many people think the word is related to the word martial, meaning "relating to military affairs." But martial derives from the Latin name Mars, the god of war. It is only an accident that these two words came to be linked many centuries after they had entered English from different languages.

Legal Definition

marshal

1 of 2 noun
mar·​shal
ˈmär-shəl
1
: a ministerial officer appointed for each judicial district of the U.S. to execute the process of the courts and perform various duties similar to those of a sheriff
2
: a law officer in some cities (as New York) of the U.S. who is entrusted with particular duties (as serving the process of justice of the peace courts)
3
: the administrative head of the police or especially fire department in some cities of the U.S.

marshal

2 of 2 transitive verb
variants also marshall
marshaled also marshalled; marshaling also marshalling
: to fix the order of (assets) with respect to liability or availability for payment of obligations
also : to fix the order of (as liens or remedies) with respect to priority against a debtor's assets see also marshaling

More from Merriam-Webster on marshal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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