Dictionary

policeman en · NOUN

Pronunciation

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/pəˈliːsmən/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- Proto-Hellenic *ptólis Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis) Proto-Indo-European *-tósder. Ancient Greek -της (-tēs) Ancient Greek πολῑ́της (polī́tēs) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek πολῑτείᾱ (polīteíā)bor. Latin politiabor. Middle French policeder. English police Proto-Indo-European *mon- Proto-Germanic *mann- Proto-West Germanic *mann Old English mann Middle English man Middle English -man English -man English policeman From police + -man.

Meanings

A police officer, usually a male.
- Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Still agitated, she watched resentfully as two traffic policemen remounted their motorcycles. 2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 378:
- The policeman who arrests the "Red" does not understand the theories the "Red" is preaching; if he did, his own position as bodyguard of the monied class might seem less pleasant to him. 1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I:
A glass rod capped at one end with rubber, used in a chemistry laboratory for gravimetric analysis.
Any skipper of the genus Coeliades.
Synonym of enforcer.
- A team may have a policeman or enforcer. 2002, P. J. Harari, Dave Ominsky, Ice Hockey Made Simple: A Spectator's Guide, page 26: