sheriff
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sheriff¹
- /ˈʃɛɹɪf/
- /ˈʃɛɹəf/
Rhymes with -ɛɹɪf, -ɛɹəf
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English shirreve, in turn inherited from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to sharif (Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour with cognates in other languages, including Persian, Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.
noun sheriffs · sherriff · shrieve
- (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 their county and for administration of the county jail, sometimes an officer of the court, usually elected.
verb sheriffs · sheriffing · sheriffed · sherriff · shrieve
- To carry out the duties of a sheriff.
Sheriff²
Where it comes from
From sheriff.
proper noun
- An English surname originating as an occupation.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: bailiff, mayor, marshal, lawman, officer, deputy, depute, marshall, sir, police, badge, man, sharif, sherif, hutton, tancred
Translations
Every language
noun all meanings
| Español | sheriff, alguacil |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 보안관 boan'gwan, 형사 hyeongsa, 세리프 seripeu |
| 日本語 | 保安官 hoankan, シェリフ sherifu |
| 中文 | 郡治安官 jùnzhì'ānguān |
| हिन्दी | शेरिफ़ śerif, शरीफ śarīph |
| Português | xerife |
| Français | shérif |
| Deutsch | Sheriff |
| Italiano | sceriffo |
| Ελληνικά | σερίφης serífis |
| Română | șerif |
| Русский | шери́ф šeríf |
| Tiếng Việt | cảnh sát trưởng |
| العربية | شَرِيف šarīf |
| עברית | שֵׁרִיף shérif |
Talk about this word "sheriff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sheriff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sheriff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sheriff "sheriff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sheriff.Cite this
@misc{sheriff_2026,
title = {sheriff},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sheriff},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
