constableship
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con·sta·ble
(kŏn′stə-bəl, kŭn′-)n.
1. A peace officer with less authority and smaller jurisdiction than a sheriff, empowered to serve writs and warrants and make arrests.
2. A medieval officer of high rank, usually serving as military commander in the absence of a monarch.
3. The governor of a royal castle.
4. Chiefly British A police officer.
[Middle English, from Old French conestable, from Late Latin comes stabulī, officer of the stable : Latin comes, officer, companion; see ei- in Indo-European roots + Latin stabulī, genitive of stabulum, stable; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]
con′sta·ble·ship′ n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.