sheriff

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the principal law-enforcement officer in a county

2. 2
   noun

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

3. 3
   noun

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

4. 4
   noun

   A government official, usually responsible for law enforcement in their county and for administration of the county jail, sometimes an officer of the court, usually elected.

5. 5
   verb

   To carry out the duties of a sheriff.

6. 6
   name

   An English surname originating as an occupation.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English shirreve, in turn inherited from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour with cognates in other languages, including Persian, Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.