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
“The appearance of a bailie for a brief space dispersed the crowd, but only to show how easily the authorities might have protected their victim if they had chosen.”
From Witch Stories by E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn) Linton
"Do ye think I'll e'er gae back to that havering, daunering cuif o' a creature, the Crail bailie?"
From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by John Galt
Wasn't it a Glasgow dignitary who resented being called a man on a trial, and exclaimed, 'I'm not a man, I'm a bailie'?
From Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. II by Edmund Downey
Weel, wee Sandy was aye rinnin' ower to the hoose an' askin' aboot the bailie.
From St. Cuthbert's by Robert E. Knowles
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
