constabulary
noun/kənˈstæbjələri/
/kənˈstæbjəleri/
[countable + singular or plural verb] (plural constabularies)
- (in the UK) the police force of a particular area or town
- Hampshire Constabulary is/are appealing for witnesses to the incident.
Word Originlate 15th cent. (denoting the district under the charge of a constable): from medieval Latin constabularia (dignitas) ‘(rank) of constable’, from constabulus, based on Latin comes stabuli ‘count (head officer) of the stable’.Definitions on the go
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constabulary