A government official, usually responsible for law enforcement in his county and for administration of the county jail, sometimes an officer of the court, usually elected.
From Middle English shirreve, from Old English scīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (شَرِيف), an Arabic title of honour that has cognates in other languages including Hindi, Urdu, Portuguese, etc.
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