policemann.
/pᵿˈliːsmən/, /ˈpliːsmən/, U.S. /pəˈlism(ə)n/ 1.
a. A member of a police force; a (male) police officer.community, military, New, railway policeman, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman
truncheon officer1708
runner1735
horny1753
nibbing-cull1775
nabbing-cull1780
police officer1784
police constable1787
policeman1788
scout1789
nabman1792
nabber1795
pig1811
Bow-street officer1812
nab1813
peeler1816
split1819
grunter1823
robin redbreast1824
bulky1828
raw (or unboiled) lobster1829
Johnny Darm1830
polis1833
crusher1835
constable1839
police1839
agent1841
johndarm1843
blue boy1844
bobby1844
bluebottle1845
copper1846
blue1848
polisman1850
blue coat1851
Johnny1851
PC1851
spot1851
Jack1854
truncheonist1854
fly1857
greycoat1857
cop1859
Cossack1859
slop1859
scuffer1860
nailerc1863
worm1864
Robert1870
reeler1879
minion of the law1882
ginger pop1887
rozzer1888
nark1890
bull1893
grasshopper1893
truncheon-bearer1896
John1898
finger1899
flatty1899
mug1903
John Dunn1904
John Hop1905
gendarme1906
Johnny Hop1908
pavement pounder1908
buttons1911
flat-foot1913
pounder1919
Hop1923
bogy1925
shamus1925
heat1928
fuzz1929
law1929
narker1932
roach1932
jonnop1938
grass1939
roller1940
Babylon1943
walloper1945
cozzer1950
Old Bill1958
cowboy1959
monaych1961
cozzpot1962
policeperson1965
woolly1965
Fed1966
wolly1970
plod1971
roz1971
Smokey Bear1974
bear1975
beast1978
woodentop1981
Five-O1983
dibble1990
Bow-street runner-
1788 Parl. Reg. Ireland VIII. 334 Such police men as take any person or persons into custody, shall be obliged to tell their names, if required, to those taken into custody.
1824 J. S. Mill in Westm. Rev. 2 22 Thus they went on..till November 1822, when..in rushed the sheriff with a number of police men.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. viii. 60 He would not go before the magistrates..unless the policemen came and fetched him.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 61 He was often to be seen walking with policemen in plain clothes.
1975 J. Symons Three Pipe Probl. xii. 98 When there's a traffic jam, if a policeman isn't there to control it, then a warden stands in.
1991 C. Dexter Jewel that was Ours xxxii. 143 He was ushered through into the University Parks by a policeman on duty.
b. slang. A police informer. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer > police informer
setter1630
nose1789
mouchard1802
rat1818
stool-pigeon1830
knark1851
police informer1851
nark1859
telegraph1864
copper1885
sarbut1897
Noah's Ark1898
stool1906
snout1910
finger1914
policeman1923
stoolie1924
shelf1926
grass1929
grasshopper1937
grasser1950
stukach1969
supergrass1975
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 257 Policeman,..among the dangerous classes, a man who is unworthy of confidence, a sneak or mean fellow.]
1923 E. Wallace Missing Million xv. 128 Being an amateur, he left his finger-prints, and it's no job of mine to let 'em stay. ‘Live and let live’ is one of my mottoes, and ‘Thou shalt not be a policeman’ is another.
1925 S. Scott Human Side Crook Life i. 23 ‘Coppering’, or turning informant, is the deadly sin among crooks... Men will listen to the vilest epithets, but call them ‘bogey’, ‘brassey’, ‘copper’, or ‘policeman’, and they will be at your throat.
2. figurative.
a. A person who or thing which acts like a policeman, esp. by monitoring, regulating, or imposing order.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > manager or administrator
purveyora1387
provisora1393
controller1422
administrator1440
administera1443
administrant1602
admin1629
conductor1634
dispensatora1649
dispenser1654
manager1682
mesnagier1693
prepositor1698
wielder1723
administrador1803
policeman1806
administrative1813
manipulator1823
runner1893
case manager1969
1806 J. W. Croker Amazoniad i. iii. 57 Master by day, Policeman in the night.
1843 E. S. Wortley Moonshine ii. i. 35 A pamphlet on liberty—demonstrating the absolute necessity of every man being his own policeman.
1887 H. R. Haggard Allan Quatermain 20 The stern policeman Fate moves us and them on.
1959 Western Polit. Q. 12 1167 By what right do we [sc. the United States] take it upon ourselves to act as the world's policeman?
1995 Independent 14 Jan. 11/4 Cost-cutting..could also eliminate entire research services of the Interior Department, the scientific ‘policeman’ for the ESA.
b. An object regarded as a deterrent, obstacle, or check. Now rare except in sleeping policeman n. at sleeping adj. 1f.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > [noun] > that which
lockeOE
floodgatec1230
stopc1508
staya1533
snub1581
prevention1584
embarment1606
allay1607
spar1614
counterchecka1616
gag1618
preventivea1639
check1661
preventative1691
embargo1692
closed door1934
policeman1951
block-
1951 E. Coxhead One Green Bottle iii. 79 The climb above the crux was even more delightful; a knife-edge..then a stone policeman barring the way.
1969 G. E. Evans Farm & Village viii. 80 After the farm-workers had cleared a field of the crop they left one sheaf standing on it. This last sheaf was called the Policeman, and it was understood that no gleaner could enter the field while the Policeman was on guard.
1969 L. Thompson in R. Blythe Akenfield i. 35 The policeman was the name given to the last trave or stook which the farmers would leave standing in the middle of the field so they could have time to rake-up all the loose corn they could before the gleaners arrived.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > soldier or fighting ants
soldier1781
soldier-ant1857
policeman1877
1877 F. P. Pascoe Zool. Classif. (1880) 149 Heterogyna.—Males, females and neuters,..workers and soldiers... The soldiers (or ‘policemen’) have very large heads.
4. Science. More fully rubber policeman. A glass rod or tube with a short piece of rubber tubing or other soft attachment on one end, used in the laboratory for stirring and scraping.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > equipment or apparatus > [noun] > miscellaneous apparatus
bain1477
speculum1650
filtering paper1651
wheel-fire1662
filter paper1670
sun furnace1763
respirator1789
candle-ball1794
rectifier1822
candle-bomb1823
filter1823
oxyhydrogen blowpipe1823
shade1837
graduator1839
pipette1839
thistle funnel1849
pressure tube1852
ozonizer1858
dialyser1861
Liebig condenser1861
Sprengel pump1866
Sprengel tube1866
water softener1867
mercury pump1869
Bunsen burner1870
dialysator1877
test-mixer1877
tube-condenser1877
Kipp1879
reflux condenser1880
policeman1888
converter1889
pressure boiler1891
spot plate1896
hydrogen electrode1898
sampler1902
reactor1903
fume-chamber1905
Permutit1910
microburner1911
salt bridge1915
precipitator1919
Raschig ring1920
microneedle1921
titrator1928
laboratory coatc1936
spray tower1937
precipitron1938
ion exchanger1941
potentiostat1942
chemostat1950
Knudsen pipette1951
pH-stat1956
cryopump1958
1888 A. A. Blair Chem. Anal. Iron 25 A piece of soft rubber tubing on the end of a piece of glass rod or sealed glass tube... This little instrument has acquired the name of ‘policeman’.
1916 P. B. Hawk Pract. Physiol. Chem. (ed. 5) xxvi. 563 The remaining material in the evaporating dish is transferred with the aid of a little hot water and a rubber ‘policeman’ to a second crucible.
1930 W. T. Hall Textbk. Quantitative Anal. xi. 149 This so-called policeman may be made by sticking together the end of a piece of rubber tubing that fits the rod tightly.
1990 Carcinogenesis 11 1266/1 Cells were incubated for various times in complete medium at 37°C before being scraped off the plates with rubber policemen.
5. Nautical. A member of the watch who stays awake so as to be able to rouse other members of the crew if so ordered by an officer. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > crew > watch > watch-keeper > specific
masthead1851
policeman1929
1929 F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 104 Policeman, under sail, the member of the watch who keeps on the alert to catch an order and rouse his mates.
1933 P. A. Eaddy Hull Down 179 One of the boys, who was acting as ‘policeman’ (one of the watch who is told off to rouse the rest, should the Mate suddenly want them), came banging on the lamp-locker door.
1962 A. G. Course Dict. Naut. Terms 151 Policeman, a name used in sailing ships for the member of the watch on deck who kept awake to hear the officer's orders and call his shipmates.
6. Ice Hockey. A player whose primary role is to defend teammates from particularly aggressive play by the opposing team. Also called enforcer.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > ice hockey > [noun] > player > type of player
defenceman1877
stick-handler1889
goaler1896
rover1896
netminder1942
policeman1959
penalty-killer1960
enforcer1963
1959 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 22 Jan. 8/4 Larry Planie who attempted to play policeman for the Cants.
1976 Springfield (Mass.) Daily News 22 Apr. 39/2 A third period fight between the policemen on the two teams brought the crowd to its feet with just over a minute left.
2001 N.Y. Times 6 May viii. 8/5 Over the years, every N.H.L. team has had a so-called policeman on its roster, but the Devils won the Stanley Cup a year ago without one.
Compounds
policeman bird n. Australian the jabiru, Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus.
ΚΠ
1928 C. G. Lane Adventures in Big Bush 131 Wallabies were numerous, also..Australian storks (commonly called ‘Policeman-birds’).
1970 J. V. Marshall Walk to Hills of Dreamtime 152 The black-necked stork or policeman bird... A four-foot black-and-white bird with red legs, becoming rare.
1988 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 10 Jan. 8 c We watched the jabiru, a sort of clumsy stork also known as the policeman bird, attempt to effect an arrest of the limp but rough-skinned file snake.
policeman fly n. Australian any of various small, solitary, usually black wasps, which hunt flies as food for their larvae; esp. one of the sphecid subfamily Nyssoninae.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > the wasps > miscellaneous types
pasteboard wasp1864
killer1868
policeman fly1905
median wasp1990
media wasp1993
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > the wasps > super family Sphecoidea or family Sphecidae > member of Nyssonidae (policeman fly)
policeman fly1905
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > the wasps > super family Sphecoidea or family Sphecidae > member of Stizidae (policeman fly)
policeman fly1905
1905 Bulletin (Sydney) 23 Mar. 16/2 The ‘policeman fly’..is a black fly... When ‘the force’ arrives at a camp, the common fly has to clear out.
1926 R. J. Tillyard Insects Austral. & N.Z. xxii. 299 These wasps [sc. Arpactidae] and the members of the following family [sc. Nyssonidae] are known as ‘Policeman Flies’ in Australia.
1969 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 11 Jan. 6/8 Mr. Barrand found a fly which chases away other flies. He hopes to install tape-recorded sounds of the policeman fly in a transistorized unit.
policeman's helmet n. [so called from the shape of its flowers] the Himalayan balsam, Impatiens glandulifera.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > balsam and allied flowers
noli me tangere1563
balsam apple1578
touch-me-not1659
eagle-flower1718
balsam1736
quick-in-hand1744
Capuchin1756
balsamine1785
impatiens1785
jewelweed1817
snap-weed1823
lady's slipper1836
busy Lizzie1938
sultana1938
patient Lucy1940
policeman's helmet1950
1950 J. Hutchinson Uncommon Wild Flowers 226 Jumping Jack, Policeman's Helmet... A tall, sometimes very strong growing herb up to 6ft. or more.
1961 E. Salisbury Weeds & Aliens iii. 65 The Policeman's Helmet is now to be met with in semi-wild stations in nearly half the British counties.
1992 Countryside Campaigner (CPRE) Autumn 15/1 Are Japanese knotweed and policeman's helmet more familiar to them than wild daffodils or poppies?
Derivatives
poˈlicemanish adj. suggestive of a policeman.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [adjective] > of, belonging, or appropriate to a policeman
constabular1880
policemanly1913
policemanish1916
1916 A. Bennett Lion's Share iii. 27 The heavy policemanish step of Mr. Cowl was heard on the landing.
2000 Independent (Nexis) 25 July 7 For a machine that's made just of wires and bits of metal, it's got a suspiciously human—I'm not saying policeman-ish—streak.
poˈlicemanism n. now rare the methods or conduct of policemen.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > system of
policedom1858
policemanism1891
1891 Star 31 Oct. 4/3 Instances of policemanism crop up daily.
1908 Daily Chron. 30 Mar. 3/3 (heading) Policemanism. The Prince..went on to denounce a Government influenced by ‘men with the education of a policeman, and with the convictions of a pogromshchik’.
poˈlicemanlike adj. resembling or characteristic of a policeman.
ΚΠ
1862 H. Mayhew & J. Binny Criminal Prisons of London 118 A single-breasted, policeman-like, frock coat.
1979 J. Barnett Backfire is Hostile xiv. 157 Oh, really, Smith. Don't be so damned..policemanlike.
2003 Sunday Express (Nexis) 17 Aug. 62 What gave an already powerful programme extra strength was O'Neil's policeman-like approach.
poˈlicemanly adj. appropriate to or characteristic of a policeman.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [adjective] > of, belonging, or appropriate to a policeman
constabular1880
policemanly1913
policemanish1916
1913 Newark (Ohio) Advocate 18 Aug. 8/7 Thaw's money might be an incentive for policemanly activity.
1992 Times (Nexis) 28 Nov. (Features section) Policemen stood in properly policemanly attitudes.
poˈlicemanship n. the function, office, or action of a policeman.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > office of or fact of being
policemanship1837
policing1894
1837 Times 22 May 3/5 The following specimen of Tipperary policemanship, under the new act, was..investigated.
1897 A. Herbert in Daily News 30 Aug. 5/7 One thing we have to resist is the growth of that ugliest of all ugly things, which goes by the name of ‘policemanship’.
1991 P. Fussell BAD 190 That widespread conviction has justified the American habit of not relinquishing its moral policemanship of such former colonies as Panama and the Philippines.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1788