Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| agister agistor | formerly, an officer of the king's forest, who had the care of cattle agisted, and collected the money for the same. |
| alnager aulnager | an inspector of cloth. |
| apparitor | an officer in court who attends to execute orders. |
| arrester arrestor | one who makes an arrest. |
| assizer | an inspector of weights and measures. |
| averager | in maritime law, a person who calculates average claims. |
| bailie baillie | an officer in Scotland, whose office formerly corresponded to that of sheriff, but now corresponds to that of an English alderman. |
| bailieship | the office of BAILIE. |
| bailiff | a court officer. |
| baillie | see BAILIE. |
| baillieship | the office of BAILLIE. |
| baseej basij | in Iran, volunteer vigilantes who enforce strict Islamic behaviour and dress code, esp on women. |
| beadle | a minor parish official whose duties include ushering and preserving order. |
| beadledom | the office of BEADLE, a minor parish official whose duties include ushering and preserving order. |
| beadlehood | the office of BEADLE. |
| beadleship | the state of being, or the personality of, a beadle. |
| bedel bedell | a BEADLE, a minor parish official whose duties include ushering and preserving order. |
| bedellship | the office of BEDELL. |
| bedelship | the office of BEDEL. |
| bederal bedral | a beadle. |
| bluecoat | (US) a police officer. |
| bobby | a policeman. |
| bumbailiff | a bailiff who comes behind to make arrests; a sheriff's officer. |
| carabinero | a member of the Spanish national police force serving as frontier guards. |
| carabiniere | an Italian policeman > CARABINIERI. |
| carnifex | an executioner, esp. the public executioner in ancient Rome > CARNIFEXES. |
| catchpole catchpoll | a sheriff's officer who made arrests for failure to pay a debt. |
| centenier | in Jersey, an honorary part-time police officer with judicial powers. |
| cheka | the Russian secret police. |
| chekist | a member of the CHEKA, the Russian secret police. |
| coastguard | an organization with responsibility for watching coastal waters to prevent smuggling and illegal fishing, to assist shipping, and for life-saving. |
| coastguardsman | a member of a coast guard. |
| constable | a policeman or policewoman of the lowest rank. |
| constabulary | the organized body of constables of a particular district or country. |
| copper | (coll.) a policeman. |
| cotwal kotwal | the chief constable of an Indian town. |
| deathsman | an executioner. |
| detective | a policeman, usu not in uniform, or other person (private detective) who investigates cases of crime. |
| dogcatcher | one whose job is to catch stray dogs. |
| escheator | (hist.) an official who watched over escheats. |
| executioner | one who carries out an execution. |
| farborough tharborough | a Shakespearean mispronunciation of THIRDBOROUGH. |
| fed | U.S. slang for federal agent. |
| flatfoot | (coll.) a policeman > FLATFEET; (verb) to patrol on foot > FLATFOOTS, FLATFOOTING, FLATFOOTED. |
| flic | (sl.) a policeman. |
| foud | a bailiff or magistrate in Orkney or Shetland. |
| foudrie | the jurisdiction of a FOUD or bailiff in the Orkneys. |
| fuzz | (sl.) the police. |
| gabeller | a collector of GABELLE, a tax on salt. |
| gager gauger | one who checks the contents of casks. |
| gangbuster | a special police agent working to combat criminal gangs. |
| gaoler jailer jailor | one who runs a gaol. |
| gaoleress jaileress jailoress | a female gaoler. |
| garda | an Irish policeman > GARDAI. |
| gendarme | a French policeman > GENDARMES or GENSDARMES. |
| gendarmerie | the French police. |
| gendarmery | the body of GENDARMES. |
| gumshoe | a private detective; (verb) to act as a police officer or a detective > GUMSHOES, GUMSHOEING, GUMSHOED. |
| hangman | an executioner. |
| harman | a constable; (pl.) HARMANS, the stocks. |
| hawkshaw | a detective. [From the name of a theatrical gumshoe introduced in an 1863 play]. |
| headsman | an executioner. |
| imprisoner | one who imprisons. |
| inspector | a police rank. |
| jailer | see GAOLER. |
| jaileress | see GAOLERESS. |
| jailor | see GAOLER. |
| jailoress | see GAOLERESS. |
| jerquer | a Customs officer who JERQUES ships. |
| kotwal | see COTWAL. |
| lawman | a law-enforcement officer. |
| marshal | a law court official with responsibility for prisoners. |
| meresman | an officer who ascertains meres or boundaries. |
| mukhabarat | a secret police force in Middle Eastern countries. |
| paritor | (Shakesp.) an APPARITOR, an officer in court who attends to execute orders. |
| patrolman | a police officer on duty on a beat. |
| patrolwoman | a female police officer on duty on a beat. |
| peeler | a policeman. [From Sir John Peel]. |
| pinder pinner poinder | one who impounds cattle. |
| pinkerton | a private detective. |
| plainclothesman | a plainclothes police officer. |
| pointsman | a policeman on point duty. |
| police | a body of men and women employed to maintain order, etc; (verb) to make clean or orderly. |
| policeman | a man who is a member of a police force. |
| policewoman | a woman who is a member of a police force. |
| posse | a force or body (of constables). |
| proctor | a disciplinary officer at a college or university; (verb) to officiate as a proctor. |
| proggins | a proctor > PROGGINSES. N.B. no PROGGIN*. |
| ranzelman | an official who searches for stolen goods > RANZELMEN. |
| repoman | a person employed to repossess unpaid-for goods. |
| revenuer | a revenue officer. |
| rosser rozzer | (coll.) a policeman. |
| roundsman | (US) a policeman who acts as a supervisor. |
| sbirro | an Italian police officer > SBIRRI. |
| scavager | an officer who collected SCAVAGE, the toll for keeping the streets clean. |
| settlor | one that makes a legal settlement. |
| shamus | a gumshoe, a policeman > SHAMUSES. [Prob. fr. Yiddish shames, sexton of a synagogue]. |
| sheriff | a law-enforcement officer of a county. |
| sheriffalty sheriffdom sheriffship | the office of SHERIFF. |
| sherlock | a detective; (verb) to investigate something > SHERLOCKS, SHERLOCKING, SHERLOCKED. |
| shireman | a sheriff. |
| shirra | (Scots) a sheriff. |
| shoofly | an undercover policeman who checks on the honesty of other policemen. |
| shrieval | relating to a SHERIFF. |
| shrievalty | the office, or sphere of jurisdiction, of a SHERIFF. |
| sleuth | a detective; (verb) to act as a detective, to search for information. |
| sleuthhound | (coll.) a detctive. |
| smokey | a police officer who patrols highways. |
| subwarden | a subordinate WARDEN |
| supercop | a superior police officer. |
| supersleuth | a very effective detective. |
| sweeney | the flying squad. |
| tanadar thanadar | an officer in charge of a TANA, a police station. |
| tec | a detective. |
| thanadar | see TANADAR. |
| tharborough | see FARBOROUGH. |
| thirdborough | an under-constable. |
| tidewaiter | a customs officer who boarded and inspected incoming ships. |
| tipstaff | a sheriff's officer > TIPSTAFFS or TIPSTAVES. |
| tither | one who collects tithes. |
| toller | a toll gatherer. |
| tollman | one who receives or collects toll; a toll gatherer. |
| trooper | (US) a mounted policeman. |
| turnkey | an under-jailer. |
| untrusser | one who untrussed persons for the purpose of flogging them; a public whipper. |
| vigilante | any person executing summary justice in the absence or breakdown of legally constituted law enforcement bodies. |
| warden | someone who guards or keeps under supervision people, animals, buildings, precious objects, etc; (verb) to guard as a warden. |
| wardenry wardenship | the office or jurisdiction of a warden. |
| warder | someone who guards or supervises; a prison officer in charge of prisoners in a jail; (verb) to guard as a warder. |
| wardress | a female WARDER. |
| wolly | a uniformed policeman, esp. a raw young constable. |
| woodward | an officer of the forest, whose duty it was to guard the woods. |
| zabtieh zaptiah zaptieh | a Turkish policeman. |