bailiwick

American  

[bey-luh-wik] / ˈbeɪ ləˌwɪk /

noun

1. the district within which a bailie or bailiff has jurisdiction.

2. a person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work.

   to confine suggestions to one's own bailiwick.

   Synonyms:

   turf, territory, sphere, department, domain

---

bailiwick British  

/ ˈbeɪlɪwɪk /

noun

1. law the area over which a bailiff has jurisdiction

2. a person's special field of interest, authority, or skill

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subbailiwick
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bailiwick

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, equivalent to baili- bailie + wick wick ³

Explanation

A bailiwick is an area of knowledge in which a person or institution has control or expertise — as in "My bailiwick is international relations." There is a faintly old-fashioned, even pedantic air to the term now, so use with caution. Bailiwick can also mean a geographical area over which an official body has legal or political control, though this literal sense is less common nowadays. The word combines the Old English term bailiff, a local law officer, with -wick, a suffix denoting a specific district or jurisdiction. Britain's central criminal court, the famous Old Bailey, is so named because it was built along the ancient bailey — the defensive wall surrounding the original City of London.

Example Sentences

The family has used trusts organized in the Bailiwick of Jersey, in the Channel Islands between England and France, among other jurisdictions, to hold their wealth, according to McMahon's opinion.

From Reuters • Dec. 18, 2021

Meanwhile, Ratnesh Bagdai, co-founder of Brindisa and The Bailiwick Free House, said it was "frightening to see how central London has emptied" after the prime minister's speech.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2021

Few clothing lines capture the effervescent spirit of D.C. better than brothers JC and Jeff Smith’s Bailiwick Clothing Company.

From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2020

He then entered it into the Bailiwick Bass Club open competition, pretending he had caught it in an arduous sea fishing contest.

From The Guardian • Jan. 11, 2013

I watch the stars from the tower belonging to the Sieur Touchet du Beauvais, the Lieutenant of the Bailiwick, whose daughter has found favor in the eyes of the little Duc d'Orléans.

From The Works of Honor? de Balzac About Catherine de' Medici, Seraphita and Other Stories by Balzac, Honor? de