tipstaff
Americannoun
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an attendant or crier in a court of law.
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a staff tipped with metal, formerly carried as a badge of office, as by a constable.
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any official who carried such a staff.
noun
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a court official having miscellaneous duties, mostly concerned with the maintenance of order in court
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a metal-tipped staff formerly used as a symbol of office
Etymology
Origin of tipstaff
1535–45; shortened form of earlier tipped staff; see tip 1, -ed 3, staff 1
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.
Preceded by his tipstaff wearing a black frock coat and carrying a white staff topped with an elaborate gold crown, in came the judge.
From The Guardian • Mar. 19, 2017
When he called a conference, he must needs muster to the quarter-deck by beat of drum, with a tipstaff, having a silver bauble of a stick, leading the way.
From Heralds of Empire Being the Story of One Ramsay Stanhope, Lieutenant to Pierre Radisson in the Northern Fur Trade by Laut, Agnes C. (Agnes Christina)
Queer country, my men, this," he said, "where a meddlesome tipstaff will not let a true-blooded Englishman pay toll to his Majesty's excise.
From The Knight of the Golden Melice A Historical Romance by Adams, John Turvill
Then the tipstaff approached Mix, who was by this time half crazy with wrath, and hit the hat with his stick.
From Elbow-Room A Novel Without a Plot by Clark, Charles Heber
What are the tipstaff and crier, and what are their duties?
From Civil Government of Virginia by Fox, William Fayette
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
