sheriff

sheriff
   A term which conjures up countless western movies in which lean and hardened heroes confront the badmen.
   The American sheriffs are the chief executive officers of the counties, whose duties are to maintain peace, guard prisoners, serve processes, and the like. Showboat, by Edna Ferber, has: ‘Andy did the honours. “My wife, sheriff.”’ In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus questions the official in the courtroom: ‘Did you call a doctor, Sheriff?’
   Britain also has its sheriffs, and indeed they originated in England as shire-reeves, representing the monarch in a shire. The English sheriffs now have mainly ceremonial duties. Scottish sheriffs are the chief judges in a county or district.
   Sheriffe, as officers of the law, are either referred to or appear in several Shakespearean plays. In Henry the Fourth Part One (2:iv) a Sheriff comes looking for Falstaff. Prince Hal greets him with: ‘Now, master sheriff, what is your will with me?’ Falstaff in the meantime hides behind the curtain and is soon asleep.

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

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  • sheriff — sher·iff n [Old English scīrgerēfa, from scīr shire + gerēfa reeve (king s agent)]: an official of a county or parish charged primarily with judicial duties (as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges) Merriam Webster’s Dictionary …   Law dictionary

  • SHERIFF — SHERI Fonctionnaire royal en Angleterre, dans les territoires dépendants et en Écosse. La fonction existe dès l’époque anglo saxonne et a été étendue, après la conquête, dans toute l’Angleterre; elle est ensuite créée en Irlande et au Pays de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Sheriff — Sher iff, n. [OE. shereve, AS. sc[=i]r ger?fa; sc[=i]r a shire + ger?fa a reeve. See Shire, and {Reeve}, and cf. {Shrievalty}.] The chief officer of a shire or county, to whom is intrusted the execution of the laws, the serving of judicial writs… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shériff — Sheriff (homonymie) Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom.  Pour l’article homophone, voir Chérif. Sheriff peut faire référence à La forme anglaise de Shérif, une fonction politique et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sheriff — Sm (ein hoher Verwaltungs bzw. Vollzugsbeamter) erw. exot. (20. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus ne. sheriff, dieses aus ae. scīrgerēfa Grafschaftsvogt , zu ae. scīr f. Verwaltungsbezirk und ae. gerēfa hoher Verwaltungsbeamter . Unter dem entlehnten …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • SHERIFF — is a telecom fraud detection and management system, originally developed by BT and MCI. SHERIFF is an acronym for Statistical Heuristic Engine to Reliably and Intelligently Fight Fraud …   Wikipedia

  • Sheriff — (engl., spr. schérrif, v. angelsächs. scirgerefa, »Hüter oder Richter der Grafschaft«), in England der von der Krone bestellte erste richterliche Beamte einer, Grafschaft. Jede Grafschaft hat einen S. (High S.); nur die City von London hat deren… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • sheriff — (ingl.; pronunc. [shérif]; pl. «sheriffs») m. En Estados Unidos, funcionario encargado de mantener la ley y el orden en un distrito. Las películas llamadas «del Oeste» (el Oeste de los Estados Unidos) han generalizado este término entre los… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • sheriff — Voz inglesa (pron. [shérif]) con que se designa al representante de la justicia que se encarga de hacer cumplir la ley en los Estados Unidos de América y en ciertas regiones y condados británicos: «La película arranca del hallazgo en el desierto… …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • sheriff — (n.) late O.E. scirgerefa representative of royal authority in a shire, from scir (see SHIRE (Cf. shire)) + gerefa chief, official, reeve (see REEVE (Cf. reeve)). In Anglo Saxon England, the representative of royal authority in a shire. As an… …   Etymology dictionary

  • sheriff — ► NOUN 1) (also high sheriff) (in England and Wales) the chief executive officer of the Crown in a county. 2) an honorary officer elected annually in some English towns. 3) (in Scotland) a judge. 4) US an elected officer in a county, responsible… …   English terms dictionary

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