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shrievalty

[shree-vuh l-tee]
noun, plural shriev·al·ties.
  1. the office, term, or jurisdiction of a sheriff.
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Origin of shrievalty

1495–1505; shrieve1 + -alty, as in mayoralty
Also called sheriffalty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shrievalty

Historical Examples

  • He ought to do something to make his shrievalty memorable… and, moreover, the Lord-Lieutenant was an old man.

    Brother Copas

    Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

  • Five years later David Salomons, a Jew, was admitted to the shrievalty.

  • Mr. Stephen Tidey Senior, sir, as you may be aware, is next on the list for the shrievalty.

    The Lighted Way

    E. Phillips Oppenheim

  • A very pretty custom obtained, as we learn by the records of Evelyn's father's shrievalty.

  • The shrievalty of the County Palatine has always been esteemed the blue riband of shrievalties.

British Dictionary definitions for shrievalty

shrievalty

noun plural -ties
  1. the office or term of office of a sheriff
  2. the jurisdiction of a sheriff
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Word Origin

C16: from shrieve, on the model of mayoralty
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