marshal

noun mar·shal \ ˈmär-shəl \

variants: or less commonly marshall

Updated on: 24 Apr 2018

Definition of marshal

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 a : field marshal

b : a general officer of the highest military rank

3 a : an officer having charge of prisoners

b (1) : a ministerial (see ministerial 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

play \-sē\ noun

—

marshalship

play \-ˌship\ noun

See marshal defined for English-language learners

See marshal defined for kids

marshal was our Word of the Day on 12/29/2014. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of marshal from the Web

Federal deputy marshals took Jermaine Tywane Scott into custody at 6:30 a.m. at an apartment on Dove Lane with no gunfire or fight, police said.

— nicholas rondinone, courant.com, "New Britain Police Make Arrest In Shooting Of Woman, Two Kids," 18 Sep. 2017
He had been held in Kansas City in the Jackson County jail since he was apprehended by U.S. marshals Oct. 18.

— joe robertson, kansascity, "Accused shooter in Lawrence triple-killing delivered to Douglas County authorities," 24 Oct. 2017
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is guarded by US marshals, an unusual level of protection for her position.

— gregory wallace, CNN, "Watchdog finds agencies run unauthorized, expensive security forces," 21 Sep. 2017
Flames roared up the exterior with such power that the exterior panels flew as far as 2,000 feet, said James Foley, who was the Atlantic City fire marshal at the time, now retired.

— rachel pannett, WSJ, "Built to Burn: Thousands of Buildings World-Wide Are Wrapped in Combustible Panels," 24 Oct. 2017
The marshals were attempting to deliver a bench warrant for a federal civil suit, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Bologna.

— chris palmer, Philly.com, "Raided urgent care clinics have been in legal crosshairs for years," 24 Oct. 2017
Crews were on the scene until 5:30 a.m., and Pelc said his department returned to the building a few times to put out hot spots and to assess the scene with the state fire marshal.

— becky jacobs, Post-Tribune, "None injured in Munster fire that totaled medical offices, chief says," 10 Oct. 2017
The emergency action also requires that the state fire marshal inspect the generators within 15 days of installation.

— paige winfield cunningham, Washington Post, "The Health 202: The new GOP Obamacare repeal effort faces the same old math," 18 Sep. 2017
There were about seven marshals, says Catalina, with guns slung across their chests.

— jay nordlinger, National Review, "Asylum Now," 24 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'marshal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

marshal Has Old German Roots

Although most French words are derived from Latin, a few result from the 3rd-century Germanic occupation of France, and the early French mareschal is one such word. Mareschal is related to Old High German marahscalc, formed by combining marah ("horse") and scalc ("servant"). Our marshal, which comes from mareschal, originally meant "a person in charge of the upkeep of horses" when it was borrowed into Middle English, but by the 13th century it described a high royal official as well. Eventually it came to have other meanings.

Origin and Etymology of marshal

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

marshal

verb

variants: or less commonly marshall

Definition of marshal

marshaled or marshalled; marshaling or marshalling \ˈmärsh-(ə-)liŋ\

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

See marshal defined for English-language learners

Examples of marshal in a Sentence

She carefully marshaled her thoughts before answering the question.
marshaled their forces for battle

Recent Examples of marshal from the Web

So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of American have have marshalled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality.

— jen kirby, Vox, "Read Trump’s statement on Syria strike: ‘They are crimes of a monster’," 14 Apr. 2018
So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality.

— NBC News, "Read Trump's address to the nation on the U.S. attack on Syria," 14 Apr. 2018
So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality.

— globe staff, BostonGlobe.com, "Read President Trump’s address to the nation on Syria airstrikes," 14 Apr. 2018
So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality.

— USA TODAY, "'Precision strikes': Trump's speech on why the U.S. attacked Syria," 13 Apr. 2018
So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality.

— Fox News, "Gorka on Syria strike: US is duty-bound to respond to Assad," 13 Apr. 2018
So today, the nations of Britain, France and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality.

— washington post staff, Washington Post, "Full transcript of Trump’s address on Syria airstrikes," 13 Apr. 2018
Ryan Smith, Dorothy Pelanda and Andy Thompson each working to marshal votes, several state lawmakers told cleveland.com.

— jeremy pelzer, cleveland.com, "Race for Ohio House speaker heats up," 13 Apr. 2018
Also figuring in the president’s calculation is the need to marshal assets for a potential confrontation with North Korea, some add.

— howard lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, "Syria: What Trump is signaling to Mideast allies and foes about US priorities," 5 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of marshal

see ¹marshal

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

marshal Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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

MARSHAL Defined for English Language Learners

marshal

noun

Definition of marshal for English Language Learners

: an officer of the highest rank in some military forces
: a federal official who is responsible for doing the things that are ordered by a court of law, finding and capturing criminals, etc.
: the head of a division of a police or fire department

marshal

verb

Definition of marshal for English Language Learners

: to arrange (a group of people, such as soldiers) in an orderly way
: to move or lead (a group of people) in a careful way
: to arrange or prepare (something, such as your thoughts or ideas) in a clear, effective, or organized way

MARSHAL Defined for Kids

marshal

noun mar·shal \ ˈmär-shəl \

Definition of marshal for Students

1 : a person who arranges and directs ceremonies

a parade marshal

2 : an officer of the highest rank in some military forces

3 : a federal official having duties similar to those of a sheriff

4 : the head of a division of a city government

fire marshal

marshal

verb

Definition of marshal for Students

marshaled or marshalled; marshaling or marshalling

: to arrange in order

marshal troops

Law Dictionary

marshal

noun mar·shal \ ˈmär-shəl \

legal Definition of marshal

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

transitive verb

variants: also marshall

legal Definition of marshal

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