释义 |
policen. Brit. /pᵿˈliːs/, /pliːs/, U.S. /pəˈlis/ (in sense 6 particularly) Scottish English /poˈlis/, /pəˈlis/, /ˈpolɪs/, Caribbean English /pɔːˈliːs/, West African English /pɔˈlis/, /plis/Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French police. Etymology: < Middle French, French police public order, administration, government (late 14th cent.; perhaps c1250 in Old French in form pollice in sense ‘regulation of trades, etc., in a town’, although only recorded in a late 16th-cent. copy), good order, good administration (early 15th cent.), administration, legislation (of a town) (1426), control exercised over the courts (1477), public order assured by the state (mid 15th cent.), collection of legislative or administrative measures governing and facilitating social life (1451), conduct, practice, manner of acting (15th cent.), organization or body for public order (1584), set of rules of a state (1606), order and regulations established in a society, assembly, or other body (1636), administration watching over the upholding of rules which guarantee public security (1651) < post-classical Latin politia (see policy n.1); French police arises from variants of post-classical Latin politia with stress on the root, while French policie policy n.1 arises from variants of post-classical Latin politia with stress on the suffix. However, a number of the senses of French police are represented more commonly in English by policy n.1 Compare also polity n.1In early use in prose texts in sense 1 the spelling police could alternatively be interpreted as showing policy n.1; forms in final -e (as opposed to -y , -ie , -ye , etc.) are placed at the present entry where there is not clear metrical evidence to the contrary. The Older Scots plural forms policeis , polyceis are here taken as showing plural forms of policy n.1 (and hence are treated at that entry), whereas pollyces is taken as showing the plural of the present word. In early use apparently frequently pronounced with stress on the first syllable, as it still often is in Scots, Irish English, and in regional (north-eastern) English use: compare polis n.1 †I. Policy. the world > action or operation > advantage > expediency > [noun] the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [noun] society > authority > rule or government > politics > [noun] > branches of politics the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > prudence, discretion > [noun] > course of action the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > available means or a resource > a device, contrivance, or expedient society > authority > rule or government > politics > [noun] > political skill or statecraft c1450 (c1440) S. Scrope in tr. C. de Pisan (Longleat) (1904) 3 He exercisyd his knyghtly labowris..in grete police vsyng, as of grete cowneseylles and wysdomys. a1475 J. Fortescue (Laud) (1885) 148 Thies counsellors mowe contenually..comune and delibre..vppon suche oþer poyntes off police. a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome f. 293, in at Police And gif this had cours it wauld trouble all realmes and police. a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. 14661 That..he sulde mak sacrefice And for that offerand ordant grete police The grete ymage war crovyn of gold fyne. 1568 D. Lindsay Complaynt 403 in (1931) I. 50 Polyce and Peace begynnis to plant. 1606 in (1851) I. 46 Bothe in the kirk and police. 1640 T. Nabbes i. iii. sig. B4 What more police Could I be guilty of? c1650 J. Spalding (1850) I. 297 Hewing doun the plesant planting..to the distroying of goodlie countrie pollice. 1766 J. Entick Surv. London in IV. 208 Assisted by the police and interests of the Roman see. 1777 W. Robertson I. i. 24 It was an object of public police, as well as of private curiosity, to examine and describe the countries which composed this great body. 1874 R. Black tr. F. Guizot III. xxviii. 29 The king..forbade the University to meddle in any matter of public police. II. Organization, or a controlling body, within a community. society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > civilization > [noun] 1530 J. Palsgrave 167 All substantyues endyng in ice be of the masculyne gendre, except justice, justyce; malice malyce, and police, polyce. 1536 c. 42 §1 The knowlege of suche other good letters as in christoned Realmes be expedyent to be lerned for the conservacion of their good pollices. c1550 (1979) xvii. 114 Nature prouokit them to begyn sum litil police for sum of them began to plant treis, sum to dant beystis, sum gadthrid the frutis. 1747 T. Carte I. v. 380 Having established an admirable order and police throughout his territories. 1791 E. Burke 22 A barbarous nation [sc. the Turks], with a barbarous neglect of police, fatal to the human race. 1820 J. R. Johnson tr. P. Huber 2 These insects, whose faculties, police, and sagacity have been, by some authors, as much overrated, as by others not duly appreciated. 1845 B. Disraeli ii. iii. 119 These hovels were in many instances not provided with the commonest conveniences of the rudest police; contiguous to every door might be observed the dung-heap. 3. society > law > law enforcement > [noun] society > authority > rule or government > politics > [noun] 1698 G. Ridpath 39 The King in that case should mightily increase his Revenue; the Officers of Justice, of the Police or Discipline of Cities..would get twice as much Riches as they do. 1716 No. 5449/3 Charles Cockburn, Esq. to be one of the Commissioners of Police in North Britain. 1751 C. Morris (title page) Observations [etc.]..to which are added, some Proposals for the better Regulation of the Police of this Metropolis. 1785 T. Jefferson xv. 277 A Professorship for Law and Police. 1795 J. Aikin 263 The police of the town is managed by two constables. 1826 J. Kent I. ii. 42 The consular convention between France and this country, allowed consuls to exercise police over all vessels of their respective nations. 1877 J. Morley 2nd Ser. 39 Such legislation was part of the general police of the realm. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning other miscellaneous things > [noun] > a camp 1761 105 The Police of his Camp was much better than that of Copenhagen which he besieged. 1779 (Libr. of Congr.) (1909) XIII. 42 He is so far as concerns his brigade, to inspect the police of the camp, the discipline and order of the service. 1834 J. Kemper in (1898) XIV. 412 The towels, basins &c. here are not what they ought to be. The police of the boat is bad. 1894 July 312/2 The camp was at all times in good police. 1903 L. C. Hatch (1904) 130 There was also a board of war to superintend the police of the camp. society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > an economic policy 1767 J. Steuart I. xxxi. 489 Such a police upon grain, as might keep the price of it within determined limits. 1800 A. Young 2 The Police of Corn has not been sufficiently studied. 1865 M. L. Booth tr. H. Martin II. v. 448 The parliaments of Paris and Dijon, which had undertaken to interfere on their own authority in the police of grain. 1977 82 1263/2 Should the state continue its traditional policy of pragmatic intervention and ‘police’ of the grain trade. society > law > law enforcement > [noun] > department of administration concerned with 1740 C. Cibber ix. 184 We are so happy, as not to have a certain Power among us, which in another Country is call'd the Police. 1774 T. Pennant 128 The police of Glasgow consists of three bodies; the magistrates with the town council, the merchants house, and the trades house. 1781 C. Johnstone I. 110 An insinuation so injurious to the honour of my country; which is governed by so supremely vigilant and wise a police. 1795 H. T. Potter Ded. The depredator's talent at novelty, almost keeps pace, with the exertions of a police, able, active and vigilant. 1825 in W. Hone (1826) I. 441 Stepney, Hampstead, Westend, and Peckham fairs have been crushed by the police, that ‘stern, rugged nurse’ of national morality. 1863 H. Cox iii. vi. 667 The police of the country, by which is meant that department of government which has for its object the maintenance of the internal peace and prevention of crimes, the protection of public order and public health. 5. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police forces in specific countries or regions 1798 Duke of Portland Let. 16 May in P. Colquhoun (1800) 160 (note) The expence of the Marine Police Establishment, which appeared to me ought to be borne by Government. 1800 P. Colquhoun 219 To place their Vessels..under the protection of the Police. 1826 W. Scott ii. 41 A strong and well-ordered police would prevent the fatal agitations of a mob. 1831 Jan. 87/1 The alleged incompetency and misconduct of watchmen formed the great pretext for establishing the Police. 1867 A. Trollope I. viii. 60 Later in the day, he declared that the police should fetch him. 1885 17 Apr. 6/4 If they did not leave peaceably, they would be batoned by the police. 1922 J. Joyce ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 156 Squads of police marching out, back. 1970 27 June 1/4 One hundred police and 200 civilians yesterday searched lonely country around Stephen's home. 1989 G. Vanderhaeghe xvii. 230 It made Vera nervous that some Nosy Parker would report her to the police for serving liquor in an unlicenced establishment. 2004 (Nexis) 6 Aug. b7 Local police are warning about an escalation in the gang wars. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > for enforcing regulations or system 1818 27 Aug. 3/2 Offences which overstep this bound are liable to punishment by the University Police. 1855 W. H. Prescott I. ii. vi. 495 He might have desired originally to maintain the troops in the Netherlands, as an armed police on which he could rely to enforce the execution of his orders. 1880 37 477 He believed in a..kind of watchful police of spirits and local heroes dead and gone before. 1933 48 268 The wide area of activity of the railway police. 2004 (Nexis) 7 Aug. b10 Forestry police say Safari World had previously sought licences for 14 orang-utans. 1952 13 11 The ideal of correctness is a deadening one,..it is in vain to set up a language police to stem living developments. 1988 (Nexis) 22 May ii. 38/1 A regional magazine..has deputized its 105,000 readers as members of the Grammar Police. 2003 Sept. 106/3 The sort of imaginative choices that are sure to incite harsh criticism from the conservative jazz police. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman 1839 5 Sept. There is a police in attendance..in the theatre. 1856 ‘M. Twain’ (1928) 8 He was a police. 1924 M. W. Beckwith 126 An' he sen' for a police an' tak up Anansi same time. 1960 19 Aug. 7 It was all over the market that ‘the unco man wis a p'leece wi' plain claes’. 1988 E. Lovelace 106 If you see Jobe tell him a police outside looking for him. 2002 17 Mar. f10/3 Why you was acting so suspicious? You think I was a police? Compounds C1. General attributive (chiefly in senses 4, 5). 1758 J. Fielding (title) An account of the origin and effects of a Police Act, set on foot by his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, in the year 1753. 1862 9 Jan. 8/2 The Police Act of 1860 provides for the appointment of forty Captains and sixty Sergeants. 2002 (Nexis) 12 Dec. 11 The discredited committee studying a new police act. 1813 2 Sept. 3/1 To counteract these rumours, Savary, the notorious Police Agent, had thought it necessary to circulate a sort of Bulletin. 1930 G. B. Shaw p. xvi Proletariats are never revolutionary, and..their direct action, when it is controlled at all, is usually controlled by police agents. 1987 R. Hall (1990) ii. xxxviii. 205 Was he a police agent? A rapist? A plainclothes priest? 1872 16 Sept. The Police Ball to-night. The Policeman's Ball, which was postponed for one week, will take place to-night. 1931 30 Nov. 14/5 When the fire was discovered, police and other officials were dancing at the local police ball. 2003 (Nexis) 15 Apr. 19 The boys and girls in blue, and their partners, raised £1,600 for three good causes at their annual Police Ball. 1838 J. Pardoe II. 111 The gaily-painted and clean-looking police-barge. 1947 13 Feb. 18/5 Two explosions..sank a small Government fisheries launch and damaged a police barge. 1999 (Nexis) 4 May 8 Macleay Island residents want the State Government to shelve plans for a $250,000 police barge in favour of a police station on the island. 1798 26 July 3/4 Since the regular night surveys of police-boats have taken place upon Mr. Colquhoun's plan, nothing is to be seen upon the river. 1890 A. Conan Doyle ix. 182 I shall want a fast police-boat—a steam-launch—to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock. 2000 8 Oct. 77/1 Police boats floated in the small lake that surrounds the Parliament building, ready to repel any attack. 1884 4 Dec. 5/1 The English police cadets received official notice to-day that their services were no longer required. 1959 M. Gilbert xii. 131 A police cadet motor-cyclist was propping his machine up. 1992 30 Nov. 10/1 Several hundred border guards and police cadets in plainclothes. 1832 25 Dec. It was in his parish that a police camp was lately formed to protect the tithe keepers. 1910 A. L. Haydon 114 The serviceable portion of the lumber from which the old buildings had been constructed was conveyed to the Police camp. 1996 P. Godwin (1997) iv. 58 The old police camp was next door. 1845 19 Apr. 5/1 He is thereby taken charge (not care) of by the police, and consigned to the horrors of a police cell. 1965 D. Francis xix. 240 Four nights and three days in a police cell. 2002 (Nexis) 20 Aug. 20 Supporters of the president have moved on to several farms in the eastern part of the country while the owners were in police cells. 1839 Nov. 12 7/3 A well-dressed person, who was entered on the police charge sheet as Mr. Price Dutton, of No. 11, St. Peter's-square, Hammersmith. 1922 J. Joyce ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 174 Police chargesheets crammed with cases get their percentage manufacturing crime. 2003 (Nexis) 27 Oct. 58 Several of Ghia's foreign clients have been named in the police charge sheet. 1831 20 Dec. 3/4 A large party of police, under the command of Mr. Gibbons, Police Chief, stationed at Piltown. 1929 D. Hammett xxii. 215 I wondered if the little gambler had done it, or if this was another of the wrong raps that Poisonville police chiefs liked to hang on him. 2003 8 Sept. 35/3 That same recent issue of the Iconoclast reported that the Crawford police chief just got a new radar gun. 1919 22 Sept. 7/3 The aldermen of the Chicago city council police committee, who have been cherishing a dream of establishing a police college in Chicago. 2000 A. Sayle 60 Some Merseyside copper who'd been on an advanced paranoia course at Hendon Police College. 1828 29 Aug. 4/1 Gradations of rank and salaries in military order, either as police-colonels, captains, serjeants, &c.: or with mere civic appellations. 1907 19 Dec. Police Colonel Kalchak was killed and several of his subordinate officers and men wounded today. 1997 10 Aug. (Night & Day section) 14/2 Provenzano began his criminal career as a lieutenant of the notorious Licio Liggio, in which capacity he killed a police colonel in 1969. 1819 11 Oct. 2/1 M. Bruzelin, Police Commissioner, has signed this proces verbal. 1911 11 Apr. 7/1 A meeting of the police commissioners will be held this afternoon..when the department's estimates for the year will be considered. 2003 20 Aug. 31/2 Police commissioner..Safir announced a controversial plan to switch the entire NYPD force from full-metal-jacket bullets to hollow-point bullets. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman 1787 A. Griffith i. 22 Little more than the pay of one of our Police Constables. 1800 P. Colquhoun 206 A ‘Caution against Pillage and Plunder’ which the Police Constables were instructed to read aloud as soon as the Lumpers and Coopers were assembled. 1855 366 During two months out of every three, each police constable is on night duty. 1995 6 Apr. 16/2 Nethers will consist of the rest of us, from police constables to clerical assistants. 1850 21 Sept. 605/1 A doctrine which naturally led to..the establishment of military and police cordons. 1942 H. K. Smith iii. 69 Children broke through the police cordon. 1990 A. Beevor xvii. 187 An infantry or police cordon will have evacuated nearby buildings and blocked off roads, probably causing traffic jams. 1864 23 Feb. There was a hush in the police courtroom as a red-nosed judge took his seat upon the bench. 1912 13 May 5/4 The semiannual inspection of the police force..will be made in the police courtroom Wednesday afternoon. 2003 (Nexis) 23 Sept. f4 The basement is devoted to the city prison and police department, with police courtroom, judge's chamber and jury room. 1787 VII. 403 He entertained much respect for the worthy and honourable alderman at the head of the police department. 1844 Dec. 729/2 Some valuable statistical returns..a copy of which was kindly given to us by Mr. Gilio of the police department. 1997 July 19/2 Tipton-Whittingham v. City of Los Angeles..seeks to keep the court from ordering the Los Angeles Police Department to implement a stricter affirmative action program. society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > for police administration 1821 14 Dec. 381/4 A proclamation, ordering all the Public Houses within the Police District of Dublin Metropolis to be closed from the hour of eight o'clock. 1906 4814/3 At the present time the Metropolitan Police district is nearly 700 square miles in extent. 1991 26 July a23/1 Community leaders..blasted the reshaping of the city's nine police districts... The plan is designed to balance the police workload among the districts. 1859 11 Oct. 10/4 She expected the police doctor to visit her. 1934 M. Allingham vii. 86 The altruistic murderer is rare, and of course I couldn't say what the chances of your being one were until we have the evidence of the police doctor. 2004 (Nexis) 31 July 13 The police doctor failed to make a proper examination. 1814 W. Scott I. xvi. 167 (note) The Town-guard of Edinburgh were, till a late period, armed with this weapon when on their police-duty. 1900 8 May 11/1 A detachment of 35 Chinese soldiers shot a Russian captain in command of ten Cossacks doing police duty. 1990 A. Beevor xxvi. 319 After two tours of general police duties..he can..apply for para provost with 5th Airborne Brigade. 1788 VIII. 357 The same confidence cost 20,000l. per annum for a police establishment. 1870 18 Mar. 8/6 The police establishment was too military in its character. 1988 (Nexis) 31 May 49 California's police establishment..has bought most of the 14 systems installed so far. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] 1820 14 Nov. 3 His house was..surrounded by a police force. 1822 15 Mar. 172/1 In other instances he had overstated the number of the Police force. 1883 A. K. Green iii He is a member of the police force. 1968 21 Nov. 667/1 As I saw it, the UN must move quickly to set up some kind of international police force. 1995 15 June 4/6 Police in 16 English and Welsh police forces are shortly to test hand-held CS gas sprays. 1797 III. 362 To T. Wright, printer of The Hue and Cry and Police Gazette, for advertising deserters between the 10th April and 5th July 1795. 1863 S. C. Massett 245 The was a woodcut of me on the bills, that resembled more the head of a murderer..as appears in the Police Gazette, than anything else. 2003 (Nexis) 11 Feb. 23 History books, hoary police gazettes and official records. 1854 24 June . 4/4 A suitable place for the safe-keeping of prisoners and a room for police headquarters until a station house is provided. 1951 W. H. Auden (1952) 37 Between the burnt-out Law Courts and Police Headquarters. 1994 22 Aug. 17/2 The processing station for Manhattan defendants in the basement of police headquarters. 1848 20 Nov. 5/6 Our guard, now strengthened by some police horse and a couple of guns under Lieutenant Pollock. 1935 N. Mitchison iv. 453 She was knocked down..almost under the nose of a police horse. 1992 7 June 9/3 Union pickets fighting back against police horses riding down on them. 1788 VIII. 337 By one year's rent of police house, ending 29th September. 1893 Oct. 228/2 The following buildings have been erected in Jackson Park and Midway Plaisance... Woman's Building, Fire and Police Houses, Fisheries Building, [etc.]. 1993 G. Donaldson 306 He has been transferred yet again, this time to South Main, which..is another snitch house, a police house. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > policeman of specific rank 1824 7 July 3/5 Herring, one of the new police-inspectors..stated that in the houses of all the defendants they found men drinking during divine service, without the least restraint. 1914 S. Lewis xiv. 179 Four of the houses are private—one of them belonging to a police inspector. 2000 2 Apr. 8/7 (heading) Police inspector Eugene Sitzer has thrown down the gauntlet to parents of truant schoolchildren. 1947 28 Oct. 1/2 A police jeep followed the private car in which Lo reached the American Embassy. 1995 Apr. 21/1 Her car was flanked by police jeeps and she was yanked out. 1921 21 Aug. 34/6 Dr. Edmund Locard, head of the Lyons police laboratory of identification, has elaborated these new methods of crime detection. 2003 (Nexis) 18 Dec. 23 Documents provided by the police laboratory. 1878 13 Sept. 8/4 I cannot speak too highly of..Superintendent Austin, of the Thames police launch. 1935 W. Faulkner 236 Beyond the outer markers of the seaplane basin a police launch was scattering the fleet of small boats. 2000 73 486 When the police launch approached the area, it was met with jeers, hisses, and pounding on the canoes. 1859 10 Aug. 250/1 Wincing under the menace of a few fanatics he issued his pronunciamento to the police lieutenant of the Fifteenth ward. 1931 U. Sinclair xvii. 388 ‘Here, what's this?’ shouted the police lieutenant in charge. 2002 G. M. Eberhart II. 395/2 When police lieutenant Alex Godart was camped along the Aruwimi River in 1912, he felt what seemed to be a violent earthquake. 1887 13 July 8/3 The cost of the police medals will be provided out of the Metropolitan Police Fund. 1955 M. Allingham ii. 72 Divisional Detective Chief Inspector Charles Luke..had emerged from hospital with..a recommendation for the coveted Police Medal. 1999 7 Jan. 6/5 He has been told he is to receive a Queen's Police Medal at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace. 1823 29 Aug. 2/4 The arrest of Mr. Gleeson was occasioned..by his refusing to answer the challenge of the police patrol. 1936 ‘N. Blake’ xiv. 258 On the main road he'd have to go straight for a bit, and the police patrols would be out. 2002 2 Aug. 30/3 Police patrols are concentrated in the town-centre. 1889 Sept. 741/1 Hypolyte Muishkin, whose portrait was engraved from a police photograph taken while he was in the fortress of Petropavlovsk. 1943 G. Greene iii. i. 163 A police photograph is like a passport photograph... We protest: This isn't me. 1993 17 Jan. i3/4 The police photograph that showed a jowly face, close-cropped hair and hard brown eyes. 1889 22 Feb. 2/1 (heading) Rogues at the gallery. Scenes in the police photographer's studio. 1931 M. Allingham xv. 206 Mr. Bowditch and a police photographer had completed their work on the footprint. 1996 B. Helgeland & C. Hanson (film transcript) (Goldenrod Revised Pages) 1 (stage direct.) Police photographers document crime scenes. 1851 16 May 2/3 The Government found itself compelled to double the army in Ireland, to double the police posts, to make every village a garrison. 1925 E. A. Powell x. 199 The proper course is to go to the nearest police post and lodge a complaint against the man for being insolent. 1991 23 Feb. 2/2 The Gold Coast City Council will build a police post in the Cavill Mall despite the police department's refusal to use it. 1869 26 June 388/1 Arrest without accusation..was a police procedure frequently employed at that time in Great Britain. 1926 15 Jan. 14/3 The Home Secretary..promised a number of reforms in police procedure. 1999 28 July 16/3 The closure of all torture chambers and the discarding of torture as police procedure. society > law > law enforcement > [noun] > protection by police the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > afforded by a specific person or thing > by the police 1835 15 Dec. 3/5 Whenever application is made for police protection for persons employed in the service of law processes from any of the superior courts, reference must be first had to Dublin. 1908 Oct. 240 I would demand police protection. 2004 (Nexis) 1 Oct. 14 The children of the assistant district attorney..have been placed under police protection after the murder suspect allegedly threatened them. 1931 13 Oct. 8/5 Sparton police radios are giving excellent accounts of themselves in all parts of the country. 1999 7 Jan. a29/1 The police radio crackled out a report that a man riding a bicycle had been struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. 1867 Aug. 694/1 Many a police-raid was effected on the inhabitants of the Cour des Miracles, of the Rue Temps-Perdu. 1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House Pref. in p. xx The ordinary law was superseded by Acts under which newspapers were seized and their printing machinery destroyed by simple police raids à la Russe. 2003 May 58/2 In April, a ‘routine’ police raid found cannabis in his compound at a time when being caught with a joint meant 10 years in the slammer. 1791 tr. J. J. Rousseau iv. iv. 322 The second was a police regulation: for the holding of the comitia was forbidden in those days. 1853 E. Twisleton 23 May (1928) v. 85 Owing to the recent revolts, all the police-regulations were doubled in stringency. 2001 J. C. Grimwood (2003) i. 3 Police regulations demanded he wear a face mask, surgical gloves and..a sweatband to stop himself from accidentally polluting biological evidence. 1815 18 Oct. 3/3 See the Shadwell Police Report. 1915 F. M. Hueffer i. iii. 31 I used..to inspect the little police reports that each guest was expected to sign upon taking a room. 2003 5 Oct. 80/2 A police administrator was stationed at the registrar's desk, filling out police reports while the registrar did intakes. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > policeman of specific rank 1824 7 Aug. 3/3 It was clearly proved by the police-sergeant (Blakeny) that a riot and subsequent rescue had taken place. 1906 W. McAdoo v. 67 A rude, unmannerly person sitting as police sergeant..has no place on the New York police force. 1992 21 Feb. 12/2 A woman police sergeant from the Metropolitan Police Obscene Publications Squad..is collating information from police investigations into satanic abuse cases round the country. 1820 22 Nov. 2/7 The barges left Cotton-garden separately; and, by sweeping round the Thames-Police ship, obtained the middle of the river as quickly as possible.] 1826 W. Hone (1827) II. 329 He went on board the police-ship stationed on the Thames. 1963 23 Mar. 8/3 Yesterday two Hercules aircraft and a police ship left Surabaja, East Java, for Bali carrying food, clothes, and medicine. 2002 (Nexis) 2 Oct. b3 Coast Guard gunboats and New York police ships kept watch outside. ?1791 tr. A.-G. La Fitte 47 Must we for lovers ply th' insulting street, And pant for fear of every police spy? 1884 D. Boucicault i. iv. 23 The police spy—Harvey Duff—the man that denounced me. 2001 C. Kelly v. 80 The arch-conservative, police spy, editor of The Northern Bee, and popular novelist Faddey Bulgarin. 1851 Nov. 844/1 Nothing but soldiering or police spying seems left to the majority of the educated classes. 1935 28 May 9/4 He had a feeling of the utmost repugnance against the whole system of police spying. 2003 (Nexis) 19 Sept. b6 The administration was drafting a Patriot Act II that would allow secret arrests, police spying, unchecked power to deport foreign nationals. 1823 18 Mar. 179/4 After him came Mr Black the police-surgeon. 1928 D. L. Sayers xxi. 274 ‘Nervous shock with well-marked delusions’, said the police surgeon. 1996 Feb. 55/1 We are having talks on 25 years as a police surgeon on 19 February. 1796 P. Colquhoun xiii. 399 A moderate licence duty, which would raise a sum of money equal to all the expences of the Police System. 1885 XIX. 336/2 The police system of necessity involves the existence in a district of police stations or lock-ups, for the temporary detention of prisoners. 1999 ‘Eurydice’ 232 In cybertopia he..works as an indomitable detective in a virtual town that has its own laws and police system. 1788 VIII. 335 He mentioned the grievous burden of paying near 10,000l. police tax. 1884 20 Mar. 206/1 He has advised the farmers..to refuse to pay the police-tax. 2003 (Nexis) 27 Nov. 6 m Residents of Davidson's unincorporated area would still pay a police tax to Mecklenburg County. 1830 16 Oct. 3/5 At one time he made his escape from the police van on its way from Union-hall to Kingston, in Surrey. 1927 H. H. Lou 223 Transportation in a police van, escort by a police officer in uniform, and any visible physical restraint are objectionable and should be avoided. 2002 D. Aitkenhead xvi. 165 Minutes later, a police van pulled up and armed guards led out a dozen prisoners, shackled together with ankle-chains. 1880 5 Mar. 4/1 The defendant..pulled down the tents, and placing these..in police wagons, drove away. 1925 J. Dos Passos iii. iv. 370 At that moment a police-wagon drove up jingling. 1997 D. Simon & E. Burns 54 She hates listening to the gunshots.., wondering if..the police wagon racing around the corner has been called for her son. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > woman 1853 W. J. Hickie tr. Aristophanes Lysistrata in II. 398 You say well. Where is the policewoman? 1955 W. Gaddis ii. vi. 560 A policewoman handed that nomadic laundress over to the stronger arm of the law. 2003 29 Mar. 3/2 We can guarantee that the next day, offices throughout the land will resound with conversations about Lisa, Phil and honey-trapping policewoman Kate. 1816 9 Sept. 3/5 He was better paid for detecting forgeries than for any other kind of police work. 1937 ‘M. Innes’ ii. ii. 112 In plain police-work you could usually go straight for the truth. 2002 11 June 5/2 Police work is not about huffing and puffing. The idea that officers are off running and jumping and fighting criminals all the time is not a reality. C2. 1891 22 June 5/3 A principle, strange to say, hitherto neglected in this otherwise most State-ridden and police-controlled country. 1939 H. Hodge 236 A police-controlled cross-roads. 2003 (Nexis) 24 Dec. 21 The attendants have taken over from police-controlled traffic wardens to deal with on-street parking. 1853 27 Apr. 5/5 He left the police-guarded district at the village of Norton. 1929 R. Kipling III. 310 The police-guarded fair-grounds. 2003 (Nexis) 26 Oct. 1 a Watching a hastily formed motorcade of ambulances and patrol cars haul Schiavo back to the police-guarded hospice. 1907 22 May 7/1 Men who spend most of their lives in gaol with brief intervals of police-harassed liberty. 1844 15 June 276/1 Louis Philippe oscillates in the same style between the picnics of the Isle of Wight and the police-protected peace of Neuilly. 1901 17 July 518/2 Herr Kubelik..will have to be police-protected against the patrons of Señor Sarasate. 1992 15 505 The shapes and colors of the houses are a lagoon on which shacks float along side police-protected brick houses. 1841 27 Sept. 7/3 Mr. Hobler assured Sir P. Laurie that the public were becoming regularly police-ridden. 1907 G. B. Shaw 13 Nov. (1972) II. 721 Herbert Gladstone..has shown himself..half sentimental, half police-ridden in criminal matters. 2001 (Nexis) 15 July a12 Her parents..have hired Billy Martin..to help them navigate the press and police-ridden weeks ahead. C3. society > armed hostility > military operations > [noun] > other operations society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > activity of 1855 19 Apr. 8/5 In order to economize police action in the highest possible degree. 1933 1 July 17/1 Blurring the distinction between war the duel and ‘police action’. 1986 (ed. 118) III. v. 6211 It is also particularly important to ensure that any person searched is treated courteously and considerately if police action is not to be resented. 2004 (Nexis) 22 Aug. t2 In the 1950s, President Truman got us into a ‘police action’ in Korea, which many believe was a war. 1895 26 June 7/3 Mr. W. J. Clark, honorary secretary of the Birmingham Police Aided Association for clothing destitute children, was called. 1922 J. Joyce iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 638 Embroidery, darning or knitting for the policeaided clothing society. 2002 (Nexis) 19 Dec. 24 £3500, shared equally between the Police Aided Clothing Scheme and the St Catherine's convent at Lauriston. society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > bailing or bail > [noun] > types of bail 1924 7 Oct. 6/4 The motorist had been detained earlier without police bail. 1956 5 July 8 a/3 Mr. Coleman posted $25 police bail to insure his appearance in police court Saturday morning. 1998 2 Jan. 7/1 A formal caution could not be administered until the youth answered to police bail, on which he was released following his arrest on suspicion of supplying cannabis. 1872 21 Feb. 5/2 The masts..might be erected at the same time as the police barriers [for the Queen's visit]. 1937 H. Jennings et al. ii. ii. 104 The police barrier at the bottom of the Strand... ‘Ticket holders only.’ 2004 (Nexis) 30 Apr. a4 Police barriers kept the protesters away from a hotel where hundreds of business and political leaders attended the second day of a conference. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police records society > communication > record > list > [noun] > list of names or people > others 1861 27 Feb. 64/3 His name, arrest and the name of the officer arresting him, are on the police blotter, and there they remain. 1926 J. Black xix. 299 I never put his name, which is my name, on a police blotter or a prison register while he was alive. 1986 K. Friedman (1987) xxv. 110 I was hoping it wouldn't be through the obits or the police blotter. 1995 6 Feb. 13/1 Though police were zip-lipped about the raids, the police blotter showed two arrests on drug charges that morning. 1786 VI. 384 The right honourable gentleman has now stated what will be the probable expence of this very good institution, a police board. 1856 X. D. MacLeod xiii. 208 The whole Police Board was elected at the late election. 1995 18 July a3/2 Coun. Rob MacInnis serves on the Police Board and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > telephone kiosk society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > shelter or screen > [noun] > air-raid shelter society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > telephone booth > police box 1855 1 May 11/6 When I returned I found the prisoner in my police-box. 1890 22 Feb. 3/3 The telegraphic police box system now in use is one of the finest things ever invented. 1941 13 Oct. 29 One of many air-raid precautions taken in the British capital for the expected winter Luftwaffe attacks is the building of ‘police boxes’ at street intersections. The reinforced brick shelters will protect London Bobbies on duty during Nazi air raids. 1971 ‘R. Amberley’ xiii. 116 Someone, evidently ringing from the police box on the Banbury road. 2003 (Nexis) 19 Mar. 11 Every small district [of Tokyo] has a koban, or police box, staffed by officers. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > officials attached to police force 1914 G. A. Tandy in C. Ambler & J. Crush (1992) vi. 172 In many cases police boys are in collusion with the brewers. 1938 X. Herbert 372 A sneakin' coot of a police-boy stationed at the Compound got to hear of it and told the jonnops. 1994 C. Summers vi. 136 Some workers—such as government messengers, clerks, ‘police boys’, or relatively skilled workers—were not temporary migrants. 1833 20 May The [police] men behaved with the most shameful and brutal conduct... Your giving publicity to this statement..will oblige your constant readers and unfortunate victims of police brutality. 1914 Apr. 43 The proof of police brutality was so overwhelming that the trial magistrate was moved to denounce the police scathingly. 2019 J. Boakye 382 The hashtag #blacklivesmatter..woke people up to structural racism and racially motivated prejudice, zeroing in on the nothing-new shock of police brutality in the United States of America. society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > for police administration 1877 6 Apr. 7/1 By Sir. A. Gordon..praying that police burghs may be brought within the action of Clauses 10 and 41 of the Roads and Bridges Bill. 1963 204 An Act of that year [sc. 1850] enabled the inhabitants of a populous place to form the community into a burgh in which magistrates and police commissioners could then be elected to undertake the administration of the police and other functions previously made available to the councils of the existing burghs. The community was then termed a Police Burgh. 2003 (Nexis) 18 June 18 He also produced two non-heraldic books on Scotland's police burghs. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > policeman of specific rank > foreign 1832 18 Sept. 3/4 A police captain also attended, who was served the moment he appeared, with a summons. 1902 Oct. 674/1 The next grade above is that of sergeant. Above this comes the police captain. 1999 24 Sept. 21/2 ‘It gives them a heads-up as to what's going on’, the police captain said. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > police car 1881 3 June 6/5 One horse shot under police car; no policeman hit. 1924 A. Christie viii. 221 A large police car was waiting for us, with some plain~clothes men. 2003 30 Oct. 20/1 Police cars circled the streets with officers shouting through bullhorns that everyone had to ‘leave now’. 1829 8 Jan. 3/1 The objections against any system uniting parochial with police control are the disputes and jealousies which would be found to attend the division of power. 1928 G. B. Shaw (1962) 187 I was informed that I had passed through a police control at a speed of twenty seven miles an hour. 2003 3 Feb. 15/5 The Highways Agency must consider installing extra egress points..to enable emergency clearance under police control. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > police car 1858 27 Dec. 4/2 Should the..pirates escape the dangers of the seas and the chance of police cruisers, there is good reason to hope that a speedy and satisfactory account of..them will be given in the Nicaraguan waters. 1921 7 Oct. 20/2 As the police cruiser followed them one of the police-men fired at the fugitive with a high-powered rifle, with which each of the new police cars is equipped. 1930 7 Dec. 1/5 A police cruiser, one of the four which had been called to aid in surrounding the hangout, pursued the fleeing youth. 1994 A. Rogers ii. 92 The lot is solid with police cruisers, humvees, military transport trucks. 1963 12 192 To the extent that the policeman feels the need to develop a police ‘sub-culture’ or ‘code’ different from that of civilians he can be said to be alienated.] 1966 72 73/1 Police culture emphasizes distance between the occupation and the general community. 2004 (Nexis) 23 Apr. b1 Police culture must be modified so that those who are prepared to come forward and provide information about misconduct are recognized as being honourable officers. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > officials attached to police force 1935 8 June 5/5 The police dispatcher today broadcast a pickup order for a chocolate colored sedan. 1986 9 July 64 A Mahwah police dispatcher said extra patrols have been scheduled around the couple's modern townhome in Mahwah. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > dog the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > sheepdog > [noun] > German shepherd the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > sporting or hunting dog > used to track people 1836 C. M. Sedgwick xiv. 131 Save yourself—the police dogs are on the scent—look to the black trunk. 1925 F. S. Fitzgerald ii. 32 I'd like to get one of those police dogs; I don't suppose you got that kind? 2002 12 July i. 4/1 Ordinarily, police dogs are taught to chase offenders and to bark at them once they have been caught and stopped. society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [noun] > grip used by police 1892 Aug. 452/1 Giving you this police grip seems brutal, I know. 1910 H. G. Wells vii. 238 A combination of something romantic called ‘Ju-jitsu’ and..the ‘Police Grip’. 2002 (Nexis) 20 May 48 He will come up to me and put me in all these police grips... If I put up any sort of fight, I'm on the ground, quick. 1930 18 Nov. 2/7 Sammons..had been prevented by police harassment from earning an honest living. 1970 D. Goldrich et al. in I. L. Horowitz v. 180 El Espíritu was invaded in 1962, an act met by the government with both police harassment and army attack on the squatters' huts. 2002 4 Nov. 26/2 The continual police harassment of black youth under the old Vagrancy Act of 1824, better known as the ‘sus’ laws. society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer > police informer 1851 2 Jan. 6/2 No small satisfaction is felt by the mass of the working classes at the punishment of a police informer such as Allais. 1930 Dec. 375/1 A police informer in New York, for instance, is a stool or snitch. 2000 5 Aug. i. 2/3 Fleckney, a powerful drug baroness, described how she became a police informer in the early 1990s. society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > [noun] > Justice of the peace or district magistrate > stipendiary magistrate 1818 6 Mar. 3/6 The noble lord has had a hearing before one of the police judges. 1862 c. 35 §25 If adjudged by any magistrate or police judge of any royal or parliamentary burgh. 1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty ii. 33 It was Magistrate Jean Hortense Norris, the first woman police judge in New York, a tough hard-faced old dame. 2002 31 Jan. (Thursday Review section) 1/1 Georgetown's ‘police-judge’..was reported to have bared her breasts at the bar in Dexter's Tavern. 1836 27 Aug. 2/6 By the report of the police jury, the whole number of deaths from assassination and unknown causes in that city for the past year, has been one hundred and thirty-three! 1961 34 83 Giffen filed a petition for permission to emancipate four slaves..with the St. Martin's Parish Police Jury. 2002 14 Aug. c2/2 Without the Police Jury's support, the tribe would likely have given up on the idea, Jena Choctaw Chief Cheryl Smith said. society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > lock > other types of lock 1910 20 Nov. ii. 12/7 Very quietly he put a police lock on the door and then telephoned to the East 104th Street Station House for help. 1974 J. Willwerth iii. 48 I was really fucked up over this apartment, but that's the way it goes, I guess. I've got a police lock now. 1991 R. Gelbspan ii. 30 To enter the church and reach its inner offices, thieves opened two sophisticated police locks. society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > [noun] > Justice of the peace or district magistrate > stipendiary magistrate 1791 C. T. Bowden 15 He applied to the police magistrates for justice. 1838 XVIII. 250/1 When a complaint is made to a police magistrate he issues his warrant as he sees occasion, to a constable..or to one of the metropolitan force. 2000 (Nexis) 16 June 4 Hanson has been released on bail to appear before a police magistrate on June 23. the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > dunging > dung 1825 16 Dec. 798/4 The Inspector of Police apprehended James Dickson..and sent him prisoner to the Police Office, for having..deposited police manure in a park. 1883 15 38 The whole was manured with police manure—about 30 tons per acre. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > head of police force > foreign 1798 tr. J.-H. Castéra II. x. 356 When the chastisement was inflicted, the Police-Master entered the room again. 1863 L. Atkinson 224 We drove to the house of the police-master, who courteously invited us to be his guests. 1994 57 288 In consequence of this he was brought the same evening by the police-master to the mission-house. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > head of police force > foreign > office of 1883 Reade in Jan. 258/1 Vladimir got the promise of a police mastership. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > woman > specific 1887 Feb. 224/1 The city jail in San Francisco, where as yet a police matron is unknown. 1942 A. Christie xiv. 133 In the corner of Superintendent Harper's office sat an elderly lady... She was certainly no police matron. 2003 (Nexis) 30 Dec. e3 Mary Louise Rohrdanz was recognized..for her role as police matron. society > communication > broadcasting > a broadcast programme or item > [noun] > types of 1886 2 Apr. 6/2 Instructions have also been issued authorizing the acceptance of the police message without prepayment. 1933 27 July 10/3 7.40:—Police Messages. 7.45:—Concert. 8.55:—News. 2000 (Nexis) 30 Apr. 78 Working as a Press photographer, he acquired a short-wave radio so he could be at the scene of any major crime within minutes, alerted by police messages. 1808 W. Taylor in 26 111 For the sake of pretending to be useful, these new police-mongers will pry into every peculiarity, and meddle with every amusement of the people. 1896 C. E. Roche tr. Vicomte P. F. de Barras IV. iii. 164 It would therefore seem that it was agreed upon between the First Consul, Fouche, and a few police-mongers at that time hanging about the Minister of Police, that a Jacobin conspiracy should be fomented. 2007 B. Wilson ix. 246 The wealthy and respectable..took the character of the whole class from their carriage windows or from police reports in newspapers, lurid stories retailed by ‘police-mongers’. society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > crime or detective novel 1889 24 Sept. 5/6 They are police novels pure and simple. 1908 G. K. Chesterton 116 The police novel..permits privacy only to explode and smash privacy. 2004 (Nexis) 9 Oct. 47 Fans of hard-boiled police novels will have to travel far to find anything better. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman 1784 G. Borthwick 13 Such publick Necessary-houses, ought to be carefully attended to, by the police officers. 1794 P. Colquhoun 18 His [sc. an immoral publican's] house, in spite of all the vigilance of the parish or police officers, becomes a complete school of vice and wickedness. 1806 A. Duncan 26 Special, petty, and other constables, and all the police officers of every description..were on duty. 1920 14 Jan. 4/1 A police officer said that the official documents stated that he had never served overseas. 2003 13 July 8/6 Police ‘clinics’ staffed by specially trained police officers are to target children who are at risk of offending. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > institutional homes > [noun] > for orphans or children 1872 30 Jan. 11/6 His father left strict injunctions that he was to be sent to the Metropolitan and City Police Orphanage. 1938 M. Allingham xx. 360 [He] made the suggestion as if he were announcing a rich gift to the Police Orphanage. 1990 (Nexis) 27 Aug. 11 This son of a London policeman soon found himself resident at the Metropolitan Police orphanage because of the family's inability to cope financially. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > pistol > types of 1905 1 Nov. 12/5 (advt.) A New Colt Revolver ‘police positive’. 1975 J. Gores (1976) xxxii. 221 He took out the long-barreled police positive... He thumbed back the hammer. 2000 (Nexis) 15 Mar. b5 He carried a .38-caliber Police Positive, kept a .44-40 Colt Army Special in his car and had been known to carry a Thompson submachine gun. 1821 2 July 2/6 I would not intrust with foreigners any police power over Frenchmen. 1932 N. M. Butler xi. 168 ‘Police power’—which in American law means the principle that the public interest often requires the extension of government authority in repression..of individual activity or habit. 1967 1 Dec. 8/3 Would it not be sensible to amend the Bill so that the police power to stop and ‘breathalyse’ people should be limited? 2002 2 Aug. 7/2 The Met has been at the forefront of calls for the CSOs to be given limited police powers. society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > crime or detective novel society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [adjective] > types of novel 1957 15 Dec. 20/2 Milton K. Ozaki has nicely assimilated the police-procedural manner of Ed McBain and Jonathan Craig. 1963 17 Nov. 58/1 This is largely a straight police-procedural. 1970 14 Feb. (Saturday Review section) 4/8 This is fundamentally what they call a police procedural with a more baroque ending than usual. 2002 (National Film Theatre) Apr.–May 34/2 A breakthrough police procedural thriller. 1829 15 Apr. 4/2 Overseers to levy police rate not to exceed 6d. in the pound, and collect the same. 1863 R. Alcock I. 28 They pay road and police-rates. 1902 XXXI. 818/1 The county council of any county within the Metropolitan Police District has to transfer to the receiver of police a sum bearing..proportion to the police rate. 1985 15 Oct. 2/5 He bitterly criticized Labour's ‘extremist’ councillors in London for planning to withhold next year's Metropolitan police rate. society > communication > record > written record > [noun] > other types of written record society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > involvement with the police > police record 1773 A. Stuart 5 The great facility at Paris, by means of the capitation and police records, as well as other aids, of discovering any house or householder in any quarter of the town. 1860 R. W. Emerson Wealth in (London ed.) 92 In Europe, crime is observed to increase or abate with the price of bread... The police records attest it. 2004 (Nexis) 13 Nov. 5 The victim of the fire had no convictions or police record of any sort. society > communication > journalism > journalist > [noun] > crime reporter 1813 29 Apr. 3/4 A Police reporter, we understand, undertook to keep the transaction out of the papers. 1849 3 May 2/6 The above is furnished us by our Police Reporter. 1933 E. A. Powell xix. 299 The despatches which now appeared in the American papers were signed by former columnists, theatrical critics, police reporters, [etc.] 1959 J. Thurber ii. 32 Ben Hecht..was a police reporter at heart, Elmer Davis a corn-belt intellectual. 1989 R. Baker viii. 88 The legend also insisted that police reporters led lives of romantic gaiety and carefree independence. 1828 31 July 2/5 The inquest held at Fermoy on the body of the individual killed in what they call a police-riot, is still going on. 1969 7 Mar. 1009/1 The violence of the police..vented itself not only on demonstrators but on dozens of newsmen... The Commission on Civil Disorders..characterized the event as a ‘police riot’. 1995 G. Horne vii. 141 What began as a black ‘riot’ aimed principally at the police became..a police riot aimed principally at blacks. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > other types of policeman 1782 J. P. Macmahon tr. L. S. Mercier 69 Yes, there are in this metropolis, beings more vile than the most abandoned street-walker, and this thing is a police runner. 1841 8 Jan. 6/4 A number of lower officers, police runners, lictors, &c., were also present. 1988 115 409 Indeed, recidivists were often ‘condemned’ to serve a tour of duty as a police runner. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > science of 1851 (new ed.) X. 215/1 The scientific spirit of the Germans, connected with the character of their governments, has given rise, in that country, to the police sciences. 1927 243 Many who are unfamiliar with real police work little realize the extent to which police science has developed. 1932 178 125/2 A director of the scientific crime detection laboratory of Northwestern University and professor of police science in that university. 2002 R. G. Mitchell ii. 44 I think Berkeley was the first to offer a degree in police science. Till then it was catch as catch can. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > science of > one involved in 1935 10 Apr. 15/6 The best known of foreign police scientists, Dr. Locard, of Lyons, who has made a special study of dust, acknowledges that he is indebted in this matter to Holmes. 1991 May 37/1 Pioneer efforts, by men such as August Vollmer, the nation's first outstanding police scientist, brought an awareness that juvenile crime may be reduced effectively. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > police car > siren or bell of 1923 3 June 8/4 (heading) Failure of motorists to heed police siren halts thief's capture. 2000 7 June 28/8 The Nineties were all about holing up in your inner-city loft, the merry sound of police sirens ringing in your ears. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > pistol > revolver > types of 1935 19 Sept. 1/4 The meet Tuesday night was shot with .38 police specials. 2000 A. Sayle 78 I on the other hand had chosen for my personal protection a revolver: Smith and Wesson short .38 police special. 1984 (Nexis) 12 Oct. Lethal splinters of glass and wood littered the seaside promenade, bright in the morning seaside sunshine, cordoned off by reels of white police tape. 2001 S. Brett (2002) xxxix. 266 She looked across at the gutted building, roped off by police tapes. society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [noun] > police trap 1872 W. Jackson 65 The fraudulent procedure turns out a very useful police-trap. 1903 July 123/2 To set police traps for a man going thirteen miles an hour on an open road is sheer idiocy. 1966 M. R. D. Foot vii. 173 The others fell successively into a Vichy police trap..at the Villa des Bois. 2003 (Nexis) 7 Nov. 3 A man who drove through Lincoln at speeds of up to 70mph, mounted pavements and avoided police traps has failed to win a cut in his sentence. society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [adjective] > arrested > apprehended by a police trap 1902 28 410/2 Every police-constable on the much-police-trapped Ripley Road. 1912 20 Apr. 728/2 One visit to it [sc. Bath]..will open one's eyes enormously. Nor, like other more advertised spots, does it lie amid a ‘black and police-trapped’ district. 1996 15 June 394/1 All approach roads to the ‘The Watermans’ were police trapped. 1849 496 Each and every qualified person duly elected or appointed to be a Police Trustee of any police village. 1942 8 417 It [sc. the Municipal Act of Ontario] is now a statute..dealing with everything from the formation of new municipalities to the powers of police villages. 1995 25 Oct. b3 The legislation permitting the establishment of Police Villages was repealed in 1965. society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > signalling with other sounding instruments > [noun] > sounding of whistle > types of whistle used as signal 1872 (U.S. Congr.) II. 744 I heard several whistles blow, like police whistles. 1922 J. Joyce ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 155 Police whistle in my ears still. 2003 (Nexis) 11 Dec. 5 Officer O'Rourke found him in the pitch black..by blowing his police whistle. society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > evidence > [noun] > a witness > prosecution witness 1839 6 Dec. 7/3 It was admitted even by the police witnesses, that there was no barrier or obstruction to prevent anybody from entering the saloon. 1932 ‘Solicitor’ iii. 94 He seemed surprised when I said he was to plead ‘Not guilty’, and said, ‘But there's a police witness’. 1997 15 June 15/3 The other insists that they weighed the evidence, including the credulity of police witnesses, and had reasonable doubts. Derivatives 1903 9 May 133/1 What the taxpayer wants is to substitute a peaceful for a policeful Ireland. 1975 J. W. Spanier (ed. 2) x. 271 A peaceful society is—at least to a degree—a policeful state. society > law > law enforcement > [adjective] > furnished with police > not 1845 25 Mar. 4/5 The kingdom is benefitted by having no county left policeless and a refuge for thieves. 1900 H. G. Graham (1901) vii. i. 230 When a rare opportunity happened in policeless, jailless districts they [sc. statutes] were carried out with rigour. 2003 (Nexis) 28 May . 22 I would like to thank J J Kelly for bringing the subject of asylum seekers, drug addicts, drunks and policeless streets out in the open. society > authority > rule or government > rule of any class or persons > [noun] > of the police 1887 14 July 1 A Protest against Policeocracy. 1889 Aug. 73 The early idea of a State was to protect its territory from aggression, and to protect the individuals from injury by their fellows—a policeocracy. 1922 16 Mar. 365/1 The numerous gibes at the policeocracy of M. Pribichevich. 2018 D. A. Pivarunas i. 169 God does not give power and authority only to a select group of people. Monarchies, aristocracies, oligarchies, plutocracies, policeocracies, stratocracies (government by the military) and theocracies are all illegitimate forms of government. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). policev. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: French policer ; police n. Etymology: Partly < Middle French, French policer to administer, govern, control (1461 in Middle French; < police police n.), and partly < police n. With senses 1 and 2a compare earlier policing n. Compare policy v.2 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > [verb (intransitive)] > enclose land a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece (1858) II. 106 The nobillis als of thame tha had sic want, But thame micht nother police nor ȝit plant. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece (1858) II. 144 And gaif thame landis as tha lest, To plant and police quhair thame lykit best. 2. society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > steer ship of state [verb (transitive)] > organize or regulate state a1631 J. Donne (1647) ii. i. §2 Humane lawes, by which Kingdomes are policed. 1690 W. Temple Ess. Heroick Virtue 50 in By such Methods and Orders, the Kingdom of China seems to be framed and policed with the utmost Force and Reach of Human Wisdom, Reason and Contrivance. 1793 J. Boswell (ed. 2) I. Additions p. vii [W. Maxwell paraphrasing Johnson:] That country must be ill policed, and wretchedly governed. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning other miscellaneous things > clean other miscellaneous things [verb (transitive)] > clean a camp 1828 Rec. of Delinquencies 5 June in J. Davis (1971) I. 98 Room not policed 24. June 1825. 1846 G. B. McClellan Nov. (1917) 8 See that the part of the vessel destined to receive them is thoroughly policed, washed and well scraped out. 1853 G. Ballentine 17 All hands were then distributed in separate parties, each party in charge of a corporal, to ‘police’ or clean round the garrison. 1968 9 May 594/2 ‘Last night we policed up two sampans, killing six enemy’, said an Airborne major in modest triumph. 1993 (National Weekly ed.) 12 Apr. 31/3 We put somebody in front and somebody behind to police it up as they go. 3. society > law > law enforcement > enforce [verb (transitive)] > control by police 1834 14 Jan. 2/4 One of O'Connell's boasts used to be, that he had policed the Sovereign People, so as to be able, by their aid, to protect the public peace. 1891 Mar. 214/2 The maintenance of the navy which polices the seas. 1965 1 Dec. 16 A new breed of international trouble-shooters who now try to halt the escalators of war by policing cease-fires. 2003 (Nexis) 14 Jan. 1 Controversy has already flared over..the soaring costs of policing the capital city. society > law > law enforcement > enforce [verb (transitive)] > furnish with police 1858 4 Nov. 6/5 Even the mouth of the Canton River may perhaps be well policed. 1868 M. E. Grant Duff 84 They are building gunboats to police their coasts. 1928 E. A. Powell ii. 46 It is the business of these men..to police wharves and railway stations. 2002 (Nexis) 8 May 1 Each country with an external border is responsible for policing its own frontier. society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)] > regulate 1885 F. W. Maitland x. 112 The Cornish St. Ives, without a commission of the peace, polices, or lately policed, itself. 1893 K. Grahame (1894) 104 Policing the valleys with barbed wires. 1943 13 Dec. 18/1 Lucien E. D. Gaudreau, area rent director, said yesterday that the agency definitely will not ‘police’ rent regulations. 1977 15 Aug. 37/2 He believes that fund members will approve some new articles that will enable him to police currency exchange rates. 1996 20 Apr. 112/5 Forty per cent of patients felt that receptionists made medical decisions, barred access to GPs and policed rather than passed on calls to doctors. society > law > law enforcement > enforce [verb (transitive)] > do out of or away by policing 1839 17 June 2/4 That work of destruction by which the British nation is to be policed out of its immemorial liberties and franchises. 1876 S. Birch 40 Internal administration and microscopic regulations had policed away the spirit of the people. 1939 S. Raushenbush ii. 33 A nation browbeaten and policed into submission. 2000 (Nexis) 14 Mar. 8 The drugs problem, in particular, cannot be policed away. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.c1450 v.a1600 |