= hermandad, n.

In Spain, originally the name of popular combinations formed chiefly to resist the exactions and robberies of the nobles, to which were subsequently…

(originally) †the enforcement of religious laws; (subsequently) a police force whose task this is; (now chiefly) spec. (in certain Islamic…

†(a) government policy; cf. police, n. 1 (obsolete); (b) the police force of the State; (also) a police force with authority across and within a…

A body of soldiers, mounted or unmounted, employed as police, esp. in France.

The civil force of a state responsible for maintaining public order and enforcing the law, including preventing and detecting crime; (with plural…

The London Metropolitan Police; esp. the Criminal Investigation Department of this.

A force formed in Spain in 1844 to take over police duties from the military, and chiefly responsible for public order and safety. Also elliptical.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Royal Ulster Constabulary.

a police and military force set up, staffed, and financed by the United Kingdom to keep the peace in the former Emirate of Transjordan (now Jordan).

= sense a.

In Germany, a policeman; also collective, the police force.

In plural and (now frequently) in singular, with the. The Metropolitan Police Service (earlier, Metropolitan Police Force), London (founded in 1829).

(A member of) the Volkspolizei (see Volkspolizei, n.).

A French military guard under the command of a marshal. In modern use (humorous or ironic, chiefly in French contexts): the police, the constabulary.

Ulster Special Constabulary.

The state police force of the Republic of Ireland, established in 1922, and known as the Garda Síochána since 1923 (see Garda Síochána n. at…