apparitor

American  

[uh-par-i-ter] / əˈpær ɪ tər /

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) a subordinate official of a magistrate or of the court.

---

apparitor British  

/ əˈpærɪtə /

noun

1. an officer who summons witnesses and executes the orders of an ecclesiastical and (formerly) a civil court

---

Etymology

Origin of apparitor

1250–1300; Middle English apparitour < Latin appāritor, equivalent to appāri- (variant stem of appārēre to serve, attend, literally, to be seen; see appear) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

The devil, amazed and disgusted at laws which "excell the paines of hell," turns to go, whereupon the apparitor seeks to arrest and fine him for traveling on the Sabbath.

From The Elizabethan Parish in its Ecclesiastical and Financial Aspects by Ware, Sedley Lynch

“There,” said Juba, “is what will tell more against you than imperial edict, informer, or proconsular apparitor; and no work of mine.”

From Callista : a Tale of the Third Century by Newman, John Henry

The celestial apparitor of heaven's chancery, so we may speak, the genius of Fact and Veracity, had left his writ of summons; writ was read and replied to in this manner.'

From Critical Miscellanies, Vol. I Essay 2: Carlyle by Morley, John

Before any of his apparitors could execute the sentence, he was himself summoned away by a sterner apparitor to the other world.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

Jeremy Stickles is my name, lad, nothing more than a poor apparitor of the worshipful Court of King's Bench.

From Lorna Doone A Romance of Exmoor by Blackmore, R. D. (Richard Doddridge)