sheriff

Meanings

Noun

• (High Sheriff) An official of a shire or county office, responsible for carrying out court orders, law enforcement and other duties.
• A judge in the sheriff court, the court of a county or sheriffdom.
• 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.

Verb

• To carry out the duties of a sheriff

Origin

• 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.