Definitions for sheriff
ˈʃɛr ɪfsher·iff

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. sheriffnoun

   the principal law-enforcement officer in a county

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. sheriffnoun

   excl. (High Sheriff) An official of a shire or county office, responsible for carrying out court orders and other duties.

   Etymology: scīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve.

2. sheriffnoun

   A judge in the sheriff court, the court of a county or sheriffdom.

   Etymology: scīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve.

3. sheriffnoun

   A police officer, usually the chief of police for a county or other district.

   Etymology: scīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Sheriffnoun

   the chief officer of a shire or county, to whom is intrusted the execution of the laws, the serving of judicial writs and processes, and the preservation of the peace

   Etymology: [OE. shereve, AS. scr-gerfa; scr a shire + gerfa a reeve. See Shire, and Reeve, and cf. Shrievalty.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Sheriff

   In principle, a sheriff is a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country. The word "sheriff" is a contraction of the term "shire reeve". The term, from the Old English scīrgerefa, designated a royal official responsible for keeping the peace throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king. The term was preserved in England notwithstanding the Norman Conquest. From the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms the term spread to several other regions, at an early point to Scotland, latterly to Ireland, and to the United States. Sheriffs exist in various countries: ⁕Sheriffs are administrative legal officials similar to bailiffs in the Republic of Ireland, Australia, and Canada. ⁕Sheriffs are judges in Scotland. ⁕Sheriff is a ceremonial position in England, Wales, and India. ⁕In the United States of America, the scope of a sheriff varies across states and counties. The sheriff is most often a county official, and serves as the arm of the county court; but some cities, such as those in the Commonwealth of Virginia, also have a sheriff's office that serves as the arm of the city court and jail. The sheriff always performs court duties such as administering the county or city jail, providing courtroom security and prisoner transportation, serving warrants, and serving process. In urban areas a sheriff may be restricted to those duties. Many other sheriffs and their deputies may serve as the principal police force.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Sheriff

   sher′if, n. the governor of a shire: (English law) the chief officer of the crown in every county or shire, his duties being chiefly ministerial rather than judicial: (Scots law) the chief magistrate and judge of the county: in the United States the office of sheriff is mainly ministerial, his principal duties to maintain peace and order, attend courts, guard prisoners, serve processes, and execute judgments.—ns. Sher′iffalty, Sher′iffdom, Sher′iffship, the office or jurisdiction of a sheriff; Sher′iff-clerk, in Scotland the registrar of the sheriff's court, who has charge of the records of the court; Sher′iff-dep′ute (Scot.), the sheriff proper, so called since the abolition of the heritable jurisdictions in 1748 to distinguish him from the earlier heritable Sher′iff-prin′cipal, whose title is now merged in that of the Lord-lieutenant; Sher′iff-off′icer, in Scotland, an officer connected with the sheriff's court, who is charged with arrests, the serving of processes, &c.; Sher′iff-sub′stitute, the acting sheriff in a Scotch county or city, like the sheriff-depute appointed by the crown, but unlike the sheriff-depute forced to reside within his judicial district, and forbidden to take other employment; Un′der-sher′iff, the deputy of an English sheriff who performs the execution of writs. [A.S. scir-geréfa—scir (Eng. shire), geréfa, a governor; cog. with Ger. graf, a count.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Sheriff

   in England the chief officer of the Crown in every county, appointed annually, and intrusted with the execution of the laws and the maintenance of peace and order, with power to summon the posse commitatus. The office originated in Anglo-Saxon times, when it exercised wide judicial functions which have been gradually curtailed, and such duties as remain—the execution of writs, enforcement of legal decisions, &c., are mostly delegated to an under-sheriff (usually a lawyer) and bound-bailiffs, while the sheriff himself, generally a person of wealth (the office being unsalaried and compulsory, but not necessarily for more than one year) discharges merely honorary duties. In Scotland the sheriff, or sheriff-depute as he is called, is the chief judge of the county, and has under him one or more sheriffs-substitute, upon whom devolves the larger portion of the important and multifarious duties of his office. In America the sheriff is the chief administrative officer of the county, but exercises no judicial functions at all.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. sheriff

   Song lyrics by sheriff -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by sheriff on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Lawman

How to pronounce sheriff?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say sheriff in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of sheriff in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of sheriff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of sheriff in a Sentence

1. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker:

   In Harris County there was a deputy sheriff who was shot 15 times -- 15 times, while he was filling up his gas tank. Why? Because the sheriff there said they believe that the suspect that went after him did so just because he was in uniform, in our society we need leaders, not just in elected office, we need clergy and business and other leaders in our community to say enough is enough.

2. Melissa Morreale:

   Sheriff( Rick) Staly will ensure the rights of everyone under the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment are protected.

3. Victor Hill:

   While focused on the recovery and healing of Gwenevere, I will simultaneously continue with my duties and responsibilities as the sheriff of Clayton County.

4. Jack Smith:

   She does a lot of interviews, she does a lot of online interviews with different personalities where she says that the sheriff’s office has not even approached her, that can be very frustrating when you know you’ve approached multiple times.

5. Sheriff Richard Kelly:

   The suspect wasn't injured in the crash and has been taken into custody and is being detained at this time at the Clinton County Sheriff's Office.

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