/
ˈbeɪlɪf/
n.
- a sheriff's officer who executes writs and processes and carries out distraints and arrests.
- Brit. the agent of a landlord.
- N. Amer. an official in a court of law who keeps order and looks after prisoners.
- Brit. historical the sovereign's representative in a district, especially the chief officer of a hundred.
- the first civil officer in the Channel Islands.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. baillif, inflected form of bailli (see bailie), based on L. bajulus ‘carrier, manager’.