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bailiff |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.12 sec. |
bailiffOfficer of some U.S. courts whose duties include keeping order in the courtroom and guarding prisoners or jurors in deliberation. In medieval Europe, it was a title of some dignity and power, denoting a manorial superintendent or royal agent who collected fines and rent, served writs, assembled juries, made arrests, and executed the monarch's orders. The bailiff's authority was gradually eroded by the increasing need to use administrators with legal or other specialized training. bailiff Chiefly Brit (formerly) a high official having judicial powers How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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He became convinced that my mother was acting like a fool; that the bailiff (a faithful servant, if ever there was one yet) was cunningly advancing his own interests by means of his daughter; and that I was a young idiot, who had developed his native reserves of imbecility at an unusually early period of life. The bailiff came in, and said everything, thank God, was doing well; but informed him that the buckwheat in the new drying machine had been a little scorched. Some years later, on the Monday as it might be, my lady says, "Sir John, your bailiff is a stupid old man. |
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