Search Result for "constable": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (3)

1. a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff;

2. English landscape painter (1776-1837);
[syn: Constable, John Constable]

3. a police officer of the lowest rank;
[syn: constable, police constable]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Constable \Con"sta*ble\ (k[o^]n"st[.a]*b'l or k[u^]n"st[.a]*b'l), n. [OE. conestable, constable, a constable (in sense 1), OF. conestable, F. conn['e]table, LL. conestabulus, constabularius, comes stabuli, orig., count of the stable, master of the horse, equerry; comes count (L. companion) + L. stabulum stable. See Count a nobleman, and Stable.] 1. A high officer in the monarchical establishments of the Middle Ages. [1913 Webster] Note: The constable of France was the first officer of the crown, and had the chief command of the army. It was also his duty to regulate all matters of chivalry. The office was suppressed in 1627. The constable, or lord high constable, of England, was one of the highest officers of the crown, commander in chief of the forces, and keeper of the peace of the nation. He also had judicial cognizance of many important matters. The office was as early as the Conquest, but has been disused (except on great and solemn occasions), since the attainder of Stafford, duke of Buckingham, in the reign of Henry VIII. [1913 Webster] 2. (Law) An officer of the peace having power as a conservator of the public peace, and bound to execute the warrants of judicial officers. --Bouvier. [1913 Webster] Note: In England, at the present time, the constable is a conservator of the peace within his district, and is also charged by various statutes with other duties, such as serving summons, precepts, warrants, etc. In the United States, constables are town or city officers of the peace, with powers similar to those of the constables of England. In addition to their duties as conservators of the peace, they are invested with others by statute, such as to execute civil as well as criminal process in certain cases, to attend courts, keep juries, etc. In some cities, there are officers called high constables, who act as chiefs of the constabulary or police force. In other cities the title of constable, as well as the office, is merged in that of the police officer. [1913 Webster] High constable, a constable having certain duties and powers within a hundred. [Eng.] Petty constable, a conservator of the peace within a parish or tithing; a tithingman. [Eng.] Special constable, a person appointed to act as constable of special occasions. To overrun the constable, or outrun the constable, to spend more than one's income; to get into debt. [Colloq.] --Smollett. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

constable n 1: a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff 2: English landscape painter (1776-1837) [syn: Constable, John Constable] 3: a police officer of the lowest rank [syn: constable, police constable]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

56 Moby Thesaurus words for "constable": G-man, John Law, MP, bailiff, beadle, beagle, bobby, bound bailiff, bull, captain, catchpole, chief of police, commissioner, cop, copper, deputy, deputy sheriff, detective, fed, federal, flatfoot, flic, fuzz, gendarme, government man, inspector, lictor, lieutenant, mace-bearer, marshal, mounted policeman, narc, officer, paddy, patrolman, peace officer, peeler, police captain, police commissioner, police constable, police inspector, police matron, police officer, police sergeant, policeman, policewoman, portreeve, reeve, roundsman, sergeant, sergeant at arms, sheriff, superintendent, tipstaff, tipstaves, trooper
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

CONSTABLE. An officer, who is generally elected by the people. 2. He possess power, virture officii, as a conservator of the peace at common law, and by virtue of various legislative enactments; he. way therefore apprehend a supposed offender without a warrant, as treason, felony, breach of the peace, and for some misdemeanors less than felony, when committed in his view. 1 Hale, 587; 1 East, P. C. 303 8 Serg. & Rawle, 47. He may also arrest a supposed offender upon the information of others but he does so at his peril, unless he can show that a felony has been committed by some person, as well as the reasonableness of the suspicion that the party arrested is guilty. 1 Chit. Cr. L. 27; 6 Binn. R. 316; 2 Hale, 91, 92 1 East, P. C. 301. He has power to call others to his assistance; or he may appoint a deputy to do ministerial acts. 3 Burr. Rep. 1262. 3. A constable is also a ministerial officer, bound to obey the warrants and precepts of justices, coroners, and sheriffs. Constables are also in some states bound to execute the warrants and process of justices of the peace in civil cases. 4. In England, they have many officers, with more or less power, who bear the name of constables; as, lord high constable of England, high constable 3 Burr. 1262 head constables, petty constables, constables of castles, constables of the tower, constables of the fees, constable of the exchequer, constable of the staple, &c. 5. In some of the cities of the United States there are officers who are called high constables, who are the principal police officers where they reside. Vide the various Digests of American Law, h.t.; 1 Chit. Cr. L. 20; 5 Vin. Ab. 427; 2 Phil. Ev. 253 2 Sell. Pr. 70; Bac. Ab. h.t.; Com. Dig. Justices of the Peace, B 79; Id. D 7; Id, Officer, E 2; Wille. Off. Const.