marshal

1 of 2

noun

mar·​shal ˈmär-shəl 

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

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 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

ˈmär-shəl-sē 

noun

marshalship

ˈmär-shəl-ˌship 

noun

marshal

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly marshall

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

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.

Synonyms

Verb

• mobilize
• muster
• rally

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

An armed man impersonating a U.S. marshal was arrested and taken into custody at a campaign event for Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Saturday. —Sarah Ellison, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023

The roof was small, and quickly filled beyond what any fire marshal would likely consider safe. —Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2023

General fund staffing additions include a risk manager, a deputy city marshal and a McKinney Performing Arts Center and Main Street Program coordinator. —Haeven Gibbons, Dallas News, 6 Sep. 2023

And some just kind of marshal right through it all. —Amy Bushatz, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Sep. 2023

That’s when Brown was trying to keep the Mar talk, the marshals out of canceling it nationally. —Laura Johnston, cleveland, 30 Aug. 2023

Lawmen: Bass Reeves is based on the real-life story of Bass Reeves, who was born into slavery in 1838 before gaining his freedom and becoming the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River. —Temi Adebowale, Men's Health, 28 Aug. 2023

Only three locations can train school marshals: Tarrant County College, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service and the West Central Texas Council of Governments. —Sonia Rao, Dallas News, 3 Aug. 2023

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said a 15-year-old boy was apprehended by U.S. marshals on Tuesday. —Molly Walsh | [e-mail], cleveland, 1 Aug. 2023

Verb

Ballet had already taught her how to marshal control over her gestures, to smooth over her pain for the sake of appearance. —Hannah Zeavin, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2023

Sources familiar with the outreach emphasize that there’s been no ultimatums nor threats to break with the impressive solidarity that the WGA West and WGA East have marshaled since the strike began May 2. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 8 Sep. 2023

His job is to dream the future, and then to marshal the city’s gargantuan bureaucracy to get those dreams built. —Christopher Maag, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023

As a result barricades remained in place around Lahaina town, Maui County officials said in a statement, adding that police officers had been marshaling people away from unsafe areas. —NBC News, 12 Aug. 2023

Resources are being marshaled to help those who made the expensive pilgrimage to the playa. —Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2023

So much energy and effort has gone in to navigating the movie’s treacherous obstacle course and marshaling the troops that someone seems to have forgotten that a comprehensible story would be needed to tie all of it together, and this is where Medusa Deluxe starts to turn to stone. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2023

Yet a unified Western policy on Putin, or rather on the need for his removal, is essential for marshaling the material support Ukraine needs to win a decisive victory on the battlefield. —Samuel Charap, Foreign Affairs, 13 July 2023

Pat Robertson, a Baptist minister with a passion for politics who marshaled Christian conservatives into a powerful constituency that helped Republicans capture both houses of Congress in 1994, died on Thursday at his home in Virginia Beach, Va. —Douglas Martin, New York Times, 8 June 2023

See More

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

Phrases Containing marshal

• air chief marshal
• air marshal
• earl marshal
• air vice-marshal
• marshal of the Royal Air Force
• provost marshal
• sky marshal
• grand marshal
• field marshal

• air chief marshal
• air marshal
• earl marshal
• air vice-marshal
• marshal of the Royal Air Force
• provost marshal
• sky marshal
• grand marshal
• field marshal

See More

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Kids Definition

marshal

1 of 2 noun

mar·​shal ˈmär-shəl 

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