tipstaff

[ tip-staf, -stahf ]

noun,plural tip·staves

[tip-steyvz], /ˈtɪpˌsteɪvz/, tip·staffs.

an attendant or crier in a court of law.
a staff tipped with metal, formerly carried as a badge of office, as by a constable.

any official who carried such a staff.

Origin of tipstaff

1535–45; shortened form of earlier tipped staff;see tip¹, -ed³, staff¹

Words Nearby tipstaff

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

How to use tipstaff in a sentence

My direction to the tipstaff, who got admittance into the house, was to conduct him to a judge, according to the writ.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African | Olaudah Equiano
"Certainly he can't intend to give me more than one month," said Busby to the tipstaff.
Out of the Hurly-Burly | Charles Heber Clark
Again, in his effort to follow, Mr. Thorndike was halted, but the first tipstaff came to his rescue.
Once Upon A Time | Richard Harding Davis
Was he fit for nothing but to be employed as a messenger, as a common tipstaff?
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. XII. (of XII.) | Edmund Burke
tipstaff, tip′staf, n. a staff tipped with metal, or an officer who carries it: a constable.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) | Various

British Dictionary definitions for tipstaff

tipstaff

/ (ˈtɪpˌstɑːf) /

noun

a court official having miscellaneous duties, mostly concerned with the maintenance of order in court
a metal-tipped staff formerly used as a symbol of office

Origin of tipstaff

C16 tipped staff; see tip 1, staff 1

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

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