verderer

American  

[vur-der-er] / ˈvɜr dər ər /

Or verderor

noun

1. an English judicial officer in the royal forests having charge especially of the vert, or trees and undergrowth.

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verderer British  

/ ˈvɜːdərə /

noun

1. English legal history a judicial officer responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the royal forests

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Other Word Forms

• verderership
  noun

Etymology

Origin of verderer

1535–45; < Anglo-French verderer, Old French verd ( i ) er < Latin viridārius, equivalent to virid ( is ) green + -ārius -ary ( see -er ²); doubling of -er in Anglo-French perhaps by falsely taking verder as a form of verdure verdure

Example Sentences

Windybank, as a verderer, should have remembered this, but weightier matters had driven it from his mind.

From Sea-Dogs All! A Tale of Forest and Sea by Bevan, Tom

“Yes, I am,” replied the verderer, “and as I suppose that all’s right, I shall go and deliver your message.”

From The Children of the New Forest by Marryat, Frederick

After a few moments’ silence, the verderer said, “You tell me you are going to the Intendant’s house; he is not at home.”

From The Children of the New Forest by Marryat, Frederick

"It is even as you say," replied an active-looking young man; "I was born and bred in this forest, and my father was a verderer before me."

From The Children of the New Forest by Marryat, Frederick

“It is even as you say,” replied an active-looking young man; “I was born and bred in this forest, and my father was a verderer before me.”

From The Children of the New Forest by Marryat, Frederick