sheriff

B1 Topic:Law & Government

US /ˈʃɛɹɪf/ See IPA manual

Freq #1584

Meanings

1

noun
The main law-enforcement officer of a county, often elected.

The sheriff arrested two men outside the bank.
2

noun
In Scotland, a judge in a local county court.

The sheriff sentenced the offender to two years in prison.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms sheriffs

Derived forms sheriffaltysheriffdomsheriffesssheriffhoodsheriffrysheriffshipsheriffwicksubsheriffundersheriff

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.

shirreve Middle English sċīrġerēfa Old English

View etymology graph ->

External links

# sheriff

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈʃɛɹɪf/
**Frequency rank:** 1584

## Meanings
1. The main law-enforcement officer of a county, often elected.
2. In Scotland, a judge in a local county court.

## Examples
- The sheriff arrested two men outside the bank.
- The sheriff sentenced the offender to two years in prison.

## Derived Forms
- sheriffalty
- sheriffdom
- sheriffess
- sheriffhood
- sheriffry
- sheriffship
- sheriffwick
- subsheriff
- undersheriff

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: shirreve
- Root: sċīrġerēfa

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Sheriff is 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. Important forms in the word's history include Middle English shirreve, Old English sċīrġerēfa. In current use it includes senses such as The main law-enforcement officer of a county, often elected and In Scotland, a judge in a local county court.

## Topics
- Law & Government

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sheriff

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