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Police definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

POLICE, n. [L. politia; Gr. city.]
1. The government of a city or town; the administration of the laws and regulations of a city or incorporated town or borough; as the police of London, of New York or Boston. The word is applied also to the government of all towns in New England which are made corporations by a general statute, for certain purposes.
2. The internal regulation and government of a kingdom or state.
3. The corporation or body of men governing a city.
4. In Scottish, the pleasure-ground about a gentleman's seat.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the force of policemen and officers; "the law came looking for him" [syn: police, police force, constabulary, law] v
1: maintain the security of by carrying out a patrol [syn: patrol, police]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (policed; policing) Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle French policier, from police conduct of public affairs; in other senses, from ²police Date: 1589 1. archaic govern 2. to control, regulate, or keep in order by use of police 3. to make clean and put in order 4. a. to supervise the operation, execution, or administration of to prevent or detect and prosecute violations of rules and regulations b. to exercise such supervision over the policies and activities of 5. to perform the functions of a police force in or over II. noun (plural police) Usage: often attributive Etymology: French, from Old French, from Late Latin politia government, administration, from Greek politeia, from polit?s citizen, from polis city, state; akin to Sanskrit pur rampart, Lithuanian pilis castle Date: 1716 1. a. the internal organization or regulation of a political unit through exercise of governmental powers especially with respect to general comfort, health, morals, safety, or prosperity b. control and regulation of affairs affecting the general order and welfare of any unit or area c. the system of laws for effecting such control 2. a. the department of government concerned primarily with maintenance of public order, safety, and health and enforcement of laws and possessing executive, judicial, and legislative powers b. the department of government charged with prevention, detection, and prosecution of public nuisances and crimes 3. a. police force b. plural police officers 4. a. a private organization resembling a police force <campus police> b. plural the members of a private police organization 5. a. the action or process of cleaning and putting in order b. military personnel detailed to perform this function 6. one attempting to regulate or censor a specified field or activity <the fashion police>

Britannica Concise

Body of agents organized to maintain civil order and public safety, enforce the law, and investigate crime. Characteristics common to most police forces include a quasi-military organization, a uniformed patrol and traffic-control force, plainclothes divisions for criminal investigations, and a set of enforcement priorities that reflects the community's way of life. Administration may be centralized at the national level downward, or decentralized, with local police forces largely autonomous. Recruits usually receive specialized training and take an exam. The modern metropolitan police force began with R. Peel in Britain c.1829. Secret police are often separate, clandestine organizations established by national governments to maintain political and social orthodoxy, which typically operate with little or no restraint.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 (usu. prec. by the) the civil force of a State, responsible for maintaining public order. 2 (as pl.) the members of a police force (several hundred police). 3 a force with similar functions of enforcing regulations (military police; railway police). --v.tr. 1 control (a country or area) by means of police. 2 provide with police. 3 keep order in; control. Phrases and idioms: police constable see CONSTABLE. police dog a dog, esp. an Alsatian, used in police work. police officer a policeman or policewoman. police State a totalitarian State controlled by political police supervising the citizens' activities. police station the office of a local police force. Etymology: F f. med.L politia POLICY(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Police Po*lice", n. [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. ?, fr. ? to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. ? citizen, fr. ? city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.] 1. A judicial and executive system, for the government of a city, town, or district, for the preservation of rights, order, cleanliness, health, etc., and for the enforcement of the laws and prevention of crime; the administration of the laws and regulations of a city, incorporated town, or borough. 2. That which concerns the order of the community; the internal regulation of a state. 3. The organized body of civil officers in a city, town, or district, whose particular duties are the preservation of good order, the prevention and detection of crime, and the enforcement of the laws. 4. (Mil.) Military police, the body of soldiers detailed to preserve civil order and attend to sanitary arrangements in a camp or garrison. 5. The cleaning of a camp or garrison, or the state ? a camp as to cleanliness. Police commissioner, a civil officer, usually one of a board, commissioned to regulate and control the appointment, duties, and discipline of the police. Police constable, or Police officer, a policeman. Police court, a minor court to try persons brought before it by the police. Police inspector, an officer of police ranking next below a superintendent. Police jury, a body of officers who collectively exercise jurisdiction in certain cases of police, as levying taxes, etc.; -- so called in Louisiana. --Bouvier. Police justice, or Police magistrate, a judge of a police court. Police offenses (Law), minor offenses against the order of the community, of which a police court may have final jurisdiction. Police station, the headquarters of the police, or of a section of them; the place where the police assemble for orders, and to which they take arrested persons.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Police Po*lice", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Policed; p. pr. & vb. n. Policing.] 1. To keep in order by police. 2. (Mil.) To make clean; as, to police a camp.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(polices, policing, policed) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. The police are the official organization that is responsible for making sure that people obey the law. The police are also looking for a second car... Police say they have arrested twenty people following the disturbances... I noticed a police car shadowing us. N-SING-COLL 2. Police are men and women who are members of the official organization that is responsible for making sure that people obey the law. More than one hundred police have ringed the area. N-PLURAL 3. If the police or military forces police an area or event, they make sure that law and order is preserved in that area or at that event. ...the tiny UN observer force whose job it is to police the border... The march was heavily policed. VERB: V n, V-ed see also secret police • policing ...the policing of public places. see also community policing 4. If a person or group in authority polices a law or an area of public life, they make sure that what is done is fair and legal. ...Imro, the self-regulatory body that polices the investment management business. VERB: V n • policing Policing of business courses varies widely.

Moby Thesaurus

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