gendarme

[ zhahn-dahrm; French zhahn-darm ]

/ ˈʒɑn dɑrm; French ʒɑ̃ˈdarm /

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noun, plural gen·darmes

[zhahn-dahrmz; French zhahn-darm]. /ˈʒɑn dɑrmz; French ʒɑ̃ˈdarm/.

a police officer in any of several European countries, especially a French police officer.

a soldier, especially in France, serving in an army group acting as armed police with authority over civilians.

(formerly) a cavalryman in charge of a French cavalry squad.

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Origin of gendarme

1540–50; <Middle French, earlier gens d'armes, alteration of gent d'armes people at arms

Words nearby gendarme

-gen, gena, genappe, genappe yarn, Genck, gendarme, gendarmerie, gender, gender-affirming care, gender bender, gender binary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gendarme in a sentence

On the evening of June 8, 1847, John Sullivan was apprehended by gendarmes while weaving down a sidewalk in London.
‘Before We Were Trans’ explores a complicated history|Terri Schlichenmeyer|September 23, 2022|Washington Blade
In September, Francis told the Swiss Guard and the Gendarme that the only real threats the Vatican faces are from within.
Is The Pope Unprotected Now That He’s Fired the Head of the Swiss Guards?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His father was executed in 1942 by a German gendarme after attempting to smuggle a packet of saccharine into the Ghetto.
The Week in Death: Irving Milchberg, the Teenage Gunrunner of the Warsaw Ghetto|The Telegraph|March 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A French gendarme on the case has been dispatched to London, where he will be joined by three additional French investigators.
Is Iraqi Family Fight Behind Mysterious Murders in French Alps?|Tracy McNicoll|September 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The gendarme moved quietly away, and repeated what he had heard to his captain.
The Cornet of Horse|G. A. Henty
The gendarme passed on, without deigning to thank the wretched looking man in a faded fez and torn coat.
Eastern Nights - and Flights|Alan Bott
He finished with a gesture of supreme disgust, as if friendship with a gendarme were the basest of crimes.
The Isle of Unrest|Henry Seton Merriman
When mother had recovered enough to speak she began to argue with the gendarme, telling him our story and begging him to be kind.
From Plotzk to Boston|Mary Antin
Mamma asked him why, but he said nothing and left the car, another gendarme entering as he did so.
From Plotzk to Boston|Mary Antin

British Dictionary definitions for gendarme

gendarme

/ (ˈʒɒndɑːm, French ʒɑ̃darm) /

noun

a member of the police force in France or in countries formerly influenced or controlled by France

a slang word for a policeman

a sharp pinnacle of rock on a mountain ridge, esp in the Alps

Word Origin for gendarme

C16: from French, from gens d'armes people of arms

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

gendarme

Origin of gendarme

Words nearby gendarme

Words related to gendarme

How to use gendarme in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gendarme

Word Origin for gendarme