Other forms: bailiffs
A bailiff is an officer who serves writs and seizes goods. The bailiffs came, a court bailiff, send in the bailiffs.
There are strict rules on what they may do: in England they may not force entry to a home for most debts, and they must give notice first. In America a bailiff is the court officer who keeps order in the room, which is a different job entirely.
1nounbailiffAn officer who serves writs and seizes goods.
“The bailiffs arrived to take away her furniture because she hadn't paid her debts.”
bailiff is an officer.
Old French bailif comes from Latin baiulus, a carrier or manager. Bail is a relative.
Dutch
baljuw
Scots
bailie
French
bailli
Latin
bāiulus — porter; steward
Vulgar Latin
*bāiulivus — castellan
Old French
bailif
Middle English
baillif
English, today
bailiff
From Middle English baillif, baylyf, from Anglo-Norman - and Old French bailif (plural bailis), probably from Vulgar Latin bāiulivus (“castellan”), from Latin bāiulus (“porter; steward”), whence also bail. As a translation of foreign titles, French bailli, Scots bailie, Dutch baljuw, etc. Mostly replaced the role of native reeve. a doublet of bailo.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA