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constabulary. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
constabulary, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
constabulary in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From mediaeval Latin conestabularia, a noun use of the feminine version of conestabularius, from Latin constabulus, from comes stabuli, literally ‘master of the stables’.
Pronunciation
Adjective
constabulary (not comparable)
- Of or relating to constables.
- Characteristic of police; police-like, rather than military.
Constabulary missions are different from fighting wars.
Synonyms
Noun
constabulary (countable and uncountable, plural constabularies)
- A police force.
- The police in a particular district or area.
1918, W B Maxwell, chapter XLIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361:[…] the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and perhaps had spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.
Usage notes
Constabulary is a collective noun and usually has no plural. Only when describing groups of constabularies is it used in the plural. For example, the constabularies of England and Wales form part of the constabulary of the United Kingdom.
Translations