bailie
Americannoun
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(in Scotland) a municipal officer or magistrate, corresponding to an English alderman.
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Obsolete. bailiff.
noun
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(in Scotland) a municipal magistrate
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an obsolete or dialect spelling of bailiff
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bailie
1250–1300; Middle English baillie < Old French bailli, variant of baillif bailiff
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The only pleasant thing about cleaning one’s bailie was that this was the one moment in those early days when we could have a whispered word with our colleagues.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
A lass!" answered the senior bailie, still more hilariously, "that's surely less than proper.
From The Suprising Adventures of Sir Toady Lion With Those of General Napoleon Smith by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
And some small preparations being needful, Elspa departed and left the bailie and my grandfather together.
From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by Galt, John
An oft-quoted instance of their cruelty is recorded of a bailie named Landenburg, who publicly reproved a peasant for living in a house above his station.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 07 by Johnson, Rossiter
“Doctor, I’m ready to swear afore a bailie that I never saw them thegither at the Kaims.”
From The Little Minister by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
