Con·sta·ble ![]()
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Tweet British landscape painter whose use of broken color influenced later French painters. The Hay Wain (1821) is his best-known work. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. 1. A peace officer with less authority and smaller jurisdiction than a sheriff, empowered to serve writs and warrants and make arrests. 2. A medieval officer of high rank, usually serving as military commander in the absence of a monarch. 3. The governor of a royal castle. 4. Chiefly British A police officer. [Middle English, from Old French conestable, from Late Latin comes stabulī, officer of the stable : Latin comes, officer, companion; see ei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + Latin stabulī, genitive of stabulum, stable; see stā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] consta·ble·ship′ n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.