Definition

1. Noun:
   • A court officer: A bailiff is an officer of the court responsible for maintaining order in the courtroom, executing court orders, serving legal documents, and sometimes making arrests.
   • A land agent or estate manager: (Chiefly British, historical) A bailiff was an official who managed a lord's estate or a sheriff's officer in a district.

Usage

• The primary modern usage refers to a court official.
• In historical or British contexts, it can refer to a property manager.

Examples

• Noun (Court Officer):

  • The bailiff announced the judge's entrance.
  • A court bailiff served the eviction notice to the tenant.
  • The bailiff escorted the disruptive individual from the courtroom.

• Noun (Historical/British Estate Manager):

  • The bailiff collected the rents from the tenant farmers. (This usage is now less common.)

Advanced Usage

• "To be in the custody of the bailiff": To be under the control or authority of the bailiff, often regarding seized property.
  • The goods were in the custody of the bailiff pending the court's decision.

Variants and Related Words

• Bailiwick (noun): The district or jurisdiction of a bailiff; often used metaphorically to mean one's area of skill or authority.
  • Quantum physics is outside my bailiwick.

Synonyms

• Court officer
• Marshal (in some judicial contexts)
• Sheriff's officer (in some regions)
• Estate manager (for the historical sense)

Related Phrases

• "Bailiff of a manor": A historical term for the steward or manager of a manor.
• "To call in the bailiffs": (British English) To involve bailiffs to seize property to pay a debt.

Noun

1. an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc.