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definitions

bailie

[bey-lee]
noun
  1. (in Scotland) a municipal officer or magistrate, corresponding to an English alderman.
  2. Obsolete. bailiff.

Origin of bailie

1250–1300; Middle English baillie < Old French bailli, variant of baillif bailiff
Related formssub·bail·ie, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bailie

Historical Examples of bailie

  • I had ae fine customer, the bailie; he had eleven o' a family.

    St. Cuthbert's

    Robert E. Knowles

  • The bailie was sick—an' my laddie, wee Sandy, was aye plaguin' me for a sled.

    St. Cuthbert's

    Robert E. Knowles

  • The next morning Edward went off to call on Bailie Macwheeble.

    Red Cap Tales

    Samuel Rutherford Crockett

  • But it was Bailie Macwheeble who had paid the money without my father's knowledge.

    Red Cap Tales

    Samuel Rutherford Crockett

  • At the turning of the road which led to Tully-Veolan, the Bailie met them.

    Red Cap Tales

    Samuel Rutherford Crockett

British Dictionary definitions for bailie

bailie

noun
  1. (in Scotland) a municipal magistrate
  2. an obsolete or dialect spelling of bailiff

Word Origin for bailie

C13: from Old French bailli, from earlier baillif bailiff
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012