Constable

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  constable
       n 1: a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff
       2: English landscape painter (1776-1837) [syn: {John Constable}]
       3: a police officer of the lowest rank [syn: {police constable}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  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. 
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Constable, NY
    Zip code(s): 12926