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
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
“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)
I had ae fine customer, the bailie; he had eleven o' a family.
From St. Cuthbert's by Knowles, Robert E.
Scotland the word bailiff has taken the form of "bailie," signifying a superior officer or magistrate of a municipal corporation.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" by Various
The bailie was sick—an' my laddie, wee Sandy, was aye plaguin' me for a sled.
From St. Cuthbert's by Knowles, Robert E.
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.
