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Definition of constable noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

constable

noun
 
/ˈkʌnstəbl/
 
/ˈkɑːnstəbl/
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  1. (British English) (used especially when talking to a police officer)
    (also police constable, PC)
    (in the UK and some other countries) a police officer of the lowest rank
    • Have you finished your report, Constable?
    • The force hopes to increase the number of its beat constables.
    see also chief constable, special constableTopics Law and justicec2, Jobsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • police
    • Chief
    • Detective
    • …
    phrases
    • the rank of constable
    See full entry
  2. (in the US) an official with some of the powers of a police officer, typically in a small townTopics Law and justicec2
    3. Word OriginMiddle English originally the governor of a royal castle: from Old French conestable, from late Latin comes stabuli ‘count (head officer) of the stable’. The current sense dates from the mid 19th cent.
See constable in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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