Originally the constable was the chief officer of the household of the sovereign or of
a royal castle and the word is met as such for the first time in the
13th century. By
the 14th century constable was also used for an officer of the peace.
With its origins in the Old French
conestable, in Late Latin it was
comes stabuli, the count (or head
officer) of the stable.
In the 16th century constabulary was used to
describe the office of a constable or the district over which he held jurisdiction and
was first used to describe a body of constables in the 19th century.
The office was abolished in 1521 (Henry VIII).
The Lord High Constable presided over the Court of Chivalry.
The History of the English Language
DORSET
The Constables House (C12th), Christchurch
Recommend a Book for this Page
| 
