| 释义 |
▪ I. police, n.|pəˈliːs, pəʊ-|
Also 6 polyce, -yse, pollice. Also in reduced forms polie (Sc.), p'leece, etc. See also polis2.
[a. F. police (1477 in Godef.), organized government, civil administration, police, ad. med.L. polītĭa for earlier polītīa: see polity, policy, and -ice1. In early use commonly pronounced (ˈpɒlɪs), as still often in Scotland and Ireland.]
I.
†1. = policy n.1 3, 4, 4 b. public police = public policy. Obs.
c1540Surr. Northampton Priory in Prance Addit. Narr. Pop. Plot 36 Steryng them with all perswasions, ingynes, and Polyce to dedd Images and Counterfeit Relicts. 1547Boorde Introd. Knowl. iv. (1870) 137 My scyences and other polyces dyd kepe me in fauour. Ibid. xxv. 186, I werke by polyse, subtylyte, and craught. 1632Brome North. Lasse v. v, The plot smells of your Ladiships police. 1640Nabbes Bride i. iii, What more police Could I be guilty of? 1766Entick London IV. 208 Assisted by the police and interests of the Roman see. a1768Erskine Inst. Laws of Scotl. (1773) I. 152 If..the public police shall require that a highway be carried through the property of a private person.
II.
†2. Civil organization; civilization. Obs.
1530Palsgr. 167 Police, polyce. 1536Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 42 §1 The knowlege of suche other good letters as in christoned Realmes be expedyent to be lerned for the conservacion of their good pollices. 1549Compl. Scot. xvii. 145 Nature prouokit them to begyn sum litil police, for sum of them began to plant treis, sum to dant beystis, sum gadthrid the frutis. 1791Burke Let. Memb. Nat. Ass. Wks. VI. 22 A barbarous nation [the Turks], with a barbarous neglect of police, fatal to the human race. 1820J. R. Johnson tr. Huber on Ants 2 These insects, whose faculties, police, and sagacity have been, by some authors, as much overrated, as by others not duly appreciated. 1845Disraeli Sybil ii. iii, These hovels were in many instances not provided with the commonest conveniences of the rudest police; contiguous to every door might be observed the dung-heap.
3. a. The regulation, discipline, and control of a community; civil administration; enforcement of law; public order.
The early quotations refer to France, and other foreign countries, and to Scotland, where Commissioners of Police, for the general internal administration of the country, consisting of six noblemen and four gentlemen, were appointed by Queen Anne, 13 Dec. 1714. This was app. the first official use of the word in Great Britain. In England, it was still viewed with disfavour after 1760. A writer in the British Magazine, April 1763, p. 542, opines that ‘from an aversion to the French..and something under the name of police being already established in Scotland, English prejudice will not soon be reconciled to it’. (The name Commissioners of Police, or Police Commission, was in the 19th c. given to the local bodies having control of the Police force in Burghs and Police Burghs in Scotland.)
1716Lond. Gaz. No. 5449/3 Charles Cockburn, Esq. to be one of the Commissioners of Police in North Britain. 1732Swift Exam. Abuses Dublin Wks. 1761 III. 219 Nothing is held more commendable in all great cities..than what the French call the police; by which word is meant the government thereof. 1733P. Lindesay (title) The interest of Scotland considered, with regard to its Police, in imploying of the Poor, its Agriculture, its Trade [etc.]. 1737J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. iii. 60 [Scotland] A List of the Lords and Others, Commissioners of Police. 1751Corbyn Morris Pres. State of London (title-p.), Observations [etc.]..to which are added, some Proposals for the better Regulation of the Police of this Metropolis. 1756Chesterfield in World No. 189 ⁋1 We are accused by the French..of having no word in our language, which answers to their word police, which therefore we have been obliged to adopt, not having, as they say, the thing. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 502 (Lucca) Their police is very commendable, and great attention is shewn in suppressing luxury, superfluous magnificence, and..dissipations. 1757Ld. Kames Statute Law Scotl. 269 Police [Heading of a section of regulations as to prevention of fires, closing of taverns, etc.]. 1761Brit. Mag. II. 556 The right hon. lord Napier is appointed one of the lords of police in Scotland, in the room of the earl of Hopetoun. a1768Erskine Inst. Laws of Scotl. (1773) II. 714 Offences against the laws enacted for the police or good government of a country, are truly crimes against the state. 1769Blackstone Comm. IV. xiii. 162 By the public police and economy, I mean the due regulation and domestic order of the Kingdom. 1795J. Aikin Manchester 263 The police of the town is managed by two constables. 1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames iii. 156 Preventive Police may be considered as a New Science, yet in its infancy, and only beginning to be understood. 1817H. A. Merewether (title) A New system of Police; with Reference to the Evidences given before the Police Committee of the House of Commons. 1826Kent Comm. 43 The consular convention between France and this country in 1778 allowed consuls to exercise police over all vessels of their respective nation. 1844Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xix. §3 (1862) 324 By police is properly meant the care of preventing infractions of the law, detecting offenders, bringing them to justice. 1850Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) II. xvii. 249 The police of the seas was imperfectly kept. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xvii. §2. 30 The strict police of his [William I's] reign began already; robbers, murderers,..were kept in check. 1877Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. ii. 39 Such legislation was part of the general police of the realm.
†b. In commercial legislation, Public regulation or control of a trade; an economic policy. Obs.
1776Adam Smith W.N. i. xi. iii. (1869) I. 191 The elegant author of the essay on the Police of Grain. 1792A. Young Trav. France 141 Of such consequence it is to a country, and indeed to every country, to have a good police of corn; a police that shall, by securing a high price to the farmer, encourage his culture enough to secure the people at the same time from famine. [1866Rogers Agric. & Prices I. viii. 146 The importance of the trade is proved by the strict police exercised upon the importation.]
c. The cleansing or keeping clean of a camp or garrison; the condition of a camp or garrison in respect of cleanliness. U.S.
1834J. Kemper in Wisconsin Hist. Coll. (1898) XIV. 412 The towels, basins &c here are not what they ought to be. The police of the boat is bad. 1893Outing (U.S.) May 158/1 The police of the camp was found to be excellent. 1894Ibid. July 312/2 The camp was at all times in good police.
4. The department of government which is concerned with the maintenance of public order and safety, and the enforcement of the law: the extent of its functions varying greatly in different countries and at different periods.
c1730Burt Lett. N. Scotl. (1818) I. 140 By the way, this police is still a great office in Scotland,..it is grown into disuetude, though the salaries remain. 1739Cibber Apol. (1756) I. 232 Since we are so happy as not to have a certain power among us which in another country is call'd the Police, let us rather bear this insult than buy its remedy at too dear a rate. 1774Pennant Tour Scot. in 1772, 128 The police of Glasgow consists of three bodies; the magistrates with the town council, the merchants house, and the trades house. 1781C. Johnston Hist. J. Juniper I. 110 An insinuation so injurious to the honour of my country; which is governed by so supremely vigilant and wise a police. 1825in Hone Every-day Bk. I. 441 Stepney, Hampstead, Westend, and Peckham fairs have been crushed by the police, that ‘stern, rugged nurse’ of national morality. 1863H. Cox Instit. iii. vi. 667 The police of the country, by which is meant that department of government which has for its object the maintenance of the internal peace and prevention of crimes, the protection of public order and public health.
5. a. The civil force to which is entrusted the duty of maintaining public order, enforcing regulations for the prevention and punishment of breaches of the law, and detecting crime; construed as pl., the members of a police force; the constabulary of a locality.
Marine Police, the name given to the force instituted c 1798 (orig. by private enterprise) to protect the merchant shipping on the Thames in the Port of London. (The earliest use in this sense.) New Police (quots. 1830, 1831, 1884): the name by which the police force established for London in 1829 (Act 10 Geo. IV, c. 44) was for some time known.
1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames 165 The vigilance of the Marine Police detected one of the Boats conveying it on shore. Ibid. 219 To place their Vessels..under the protection of the Police. 1826Scott Mal. Malagr. ii. 41 A strong and well-ordered police would prevent the fatal agitations of a mob. 1830Wellington Let. to Peel 3 Nov., I congratulate you on the entire success of the Police in London. It is impossible to see anything more respectable than they are. 1830Jekyll Corr. 13 Nov., It is incredible with what spirit and firmness the new police has defeated the canaille. 1831Blackw. Mag. Jan. 87/1 The alleged incompetency and misconduct of watchmen formed the great pretext for establishing the Police. Ibid. 104/1 The establishment of the New Police will..be pronounced a sufficient reason for retaining it. 1867Trollope Chron. Barset I. viii. 60 Later in the day, he declared that the police should fetch him. 1884E. Yates Recollect. & Exper. I. 45 In those days [1836–47] the ‘new Police’, as they were still called..were very different in appearance from our present guardians. 1922Joyce Ulysses 162 Squads of police marching out, back. 1970Daily Tel. 27 June 1/4 One hundred police and 200 civilians yesterday searched lonely country around Stephen's home. 1973Ibid. 21 Mar. 10 The factory-gate clash between 400 pickets and 232 police..foreshadows a new style of strike demonstration. 1976Daily Record (Glasgow) 4 Dec. 32/2 The police then gave evidence, after being told they need not answer questions.
b. transf. Any body of men, officially instituted or employed to keep order, enforce regulations, or maintain a political or ecclesiastical system.
1837Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 13/2 Flags of different colours hoisted to various heights, and worked by the railway police, to notify any..stoppages or accidents. 1840Macaulay Ess., Ranke (1851) II. 132 The new spiritual police was every where. 1855Prescott Philip II, ii. vi. (1857) 259 To maintain the troops in the Netherlands, as an armed police on which he could rely to enforce the execution of his orders. 1859Mill Liberty 52/1 They employ a moral police, which occasionally becomes a physical one, to deter skilful workmen from receiving, and employers from giving, a larger remuneration for a more useful service. 1880Contemp. Rev. XXXVII. 477 He believed in a..kind of watchful police of spirits and local heroes dead and gone before. 1884Pall Mall G. 13 Nov. 5/1 The vexed question whether the police of the seas should be armoured or unarmoured.
c. (As a count noun.) A policeman. Chiefly Sc. and U.S. colloq.
1839Chicago American 5 Sept., There is a police in attendance..in the theatre. 1856‘Mark Twain’ Adv. Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass (1928) 8 He was a police. 1890J. Kerr Reminisc. I. 98 Then for a while the loon to jail Was taken by a polie, O. 1904, etc. [see polis2]. 1951M. McLuhan Mechanical Bride 107/2 Joyce's famous remark that, ‘though he might have been more humble, there's no police like Holmes,’ contains a world of insight. 1960Huntly Express 19 Aug. 7 It was all over the market that ‘the unco man wis a p'leece wi' plain claes’. 1964J. H. Clarke Harlem 277 He crawled out of th' door hollerin' for a police to save him. 1975Caribbean Contact Feb. 14/1 His father was a police and his mother, familiarly known as ‘Sister Lu’, a laundry worker.
6. attrib. and Comb. (chiefly in senses 4 and 5), as police act, police agent, police ball, police barge, police boat, police cadet, police camp, police car, police cell, police charge-sheet, police chief, police college, police colonel, police commissioner, police constable, police control, police cordon, police courtroom, police department, police district, police doctor, police duty, police establishment, police force, police gazette, police headquarters, police horse, police house, police inspector, police jeep, police laboratory, police launch, police lieutenant, police medal, police patrol, police photograph, police photographer, police post, police power, police procedure, police protection, police radio, police raid, police rate, police regulation, police report, police sergeant, police-ship, police spy, police spying, police surgeon, police system, police-tax, police van, police-woman, police work; also police-aided, police-controlled, police-guarded, police-harassed, police-protected, police-ridden adjs.; police action, (a) the deeds or activity of the police; (b) military intervention without a formal declaration of war when a nation or group within a nation is considered to be violating international law and peace; police bail (see quot. 1976); police blotter: see blotter 4; police board, ‘in several of the United States, a board constituted by the justices of the county for the control of county police, public buildings, roads, bridges..etc.’ (Murfree, Justices' Practice); police box, (a) a box or kiosk containing a telephone specially for the use of police or of members of the public wishing to contact the police; (b) a reinforced shelter on London streets during the 1939–45 war for the protection of policemen on duty during an air raid; police boy, in European colonies or former European territories, a ‘native’ police assistant or security officer; police burgh: see quot.; police captain, a subordinate officer in the police force in New York and other large cities of U.S., and Ireland; police cruiser N. Amer., a police patrol car; police dispatcher U.S., a member of the staff of a police station who receives information about crimes and transmits it to police patrols; police dog, (a) a dog employed by the police to track and capture criminals, to find lost persons, etc.; (b) = Alsatian n. B. 2; police grip rare, a grip or hold used by policemen; police informer, a criminal who gives information about crime to the police; police judge (Sc.), a stipendiary police magistrate; also U.S.; police jury, the name in Louisiana of the local authority in each parish invested with the exercise of police powers; police lock, (see quot. 1975); police magistrate, a stipendiary magistrate who presides in a police court; police-manure, (Scotl.) manure collected in the streets, street-sweepings; police-master, a superintendent or chief of police in Russia; hence police-mastership; police matron, a policewoman who takes charge of women or juveniles at a police station or in court; police message (see quot. 1941); police-monger, nonce-wd., one who busies himself about a police system; police novel, a detective novel in which police procedures in detecting crime form the central interest; police officer, † an official charged with the maintenance of public order (obs.); a member of a police force, a constable; police orphanage, a home for the orphans of policemen; police positive, a type of Colt's pistol; police procedural a., of or pertaining to police procedure, applied spec. to a type of crime detection story; also as n., = police novel; police record, a dossier kept by the police on all persons convicted of crime; hence, a past which includes some conviction for crime; police reporter, a newspaper reporter who concentrates on stories concerning crime and police activity; † police-runner, a police officer of the lowest rank: cf. runner; police science, the science dealing with the investigation of crime; so police scientist; police siren, the siren on a police vehicle; police special, a type of revolver; police trap, an arrangement made by police for detecting motorists who exceed the speed limit, or for apprehending criminals or other wanted persons; also fig.; so police-trapped a.; police whistle, a special type of loud whistle used by the police; police-witness, a witness whose testimony supports a police prosecution. See also police court, etc.
1758Sir J. Fielding (title) An Account of the Origin and Effects of a *Police Act, set on foot by his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, in the year 1753.
1885Encycl. Brit. XIX. 334/1 *Police action in relation to the serious matters constituting crime is familiar knowledge. 1933Week-end Rev. 1 July 17/1 Blurring the distinction between war the duel and ‘police action’. 1959Chambers's Encycl. VII. 512/2 The Dutch started the first ‘police action’ and occupied large parts of the republic. After United Nations intervention a truce agreement was signed. 1968Listener 19 Dec. 821/3 What's the difference..between police action and war, if the soldiers of the two sides are killing each other? 1978G. Vidal Kalki iii. 51 He would have been able to avoid the Vietnam war—or ‘police action’, to properly designate that valiant attempt to save Southeast Asia for the free world.
1852E. E. Hale If, Yes, & Perhaps (1868) 44, I had told the *police agent he might send it to the St. Nicholas. 1930G. B. Shaw Apple Cart p. xvi, Proletariats are never revolutionary, and..their direct action, when it is controlled at all, is usually controlled by police agents.
1910Times 21 Mar. 13/1 Mr. Winston Churchill will visit Brighton on April 2 to make himself acquainted with the Brighton *police aided scheme for clothing poor children, in which the King recently showed an interest. 1922Joyce Ulysses 670 Embroidery, darning or knitting for the policeaided clothing society.
1976Daily Tel. 6 Feb. 2/8 Where the police are unable to complete their inquiries immediately, they also have power under the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 to grant what is known as ‘*police bail’. The person in custody is required to enter into a recognizance, with or without sureties, to appear again at a police station at a certain time for further questioning. 1977Gay News 24 Mar. 1/3 All the customers were released on police bail.
1969C. Watson Bump in Night ii. 26 Don't forget it's the *police ball on the 14th. 1973Guardian 12 Mar. 1/8 Saturday night's killings occurred while most of Bermuda's unarmed police force were at the semi-annual police ball.
1838J. Pardoe River & Desert II. 111 The gaily-painted and clean-looking *police-barge.
1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames 207 The constant perambulation of the *Police Boats, both by night and by day. 1873G. Lening Dark Side of N.Y. Life 155 The six police-boats cannot be usefully employed on the rivers in the interest of commerce. 1890A. Conan Doyle Sign of Four ix. 182, I shall want a fast police-boat—a steam-launch—to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock. 1943Sun (Baltimore) 13 Dec. 5/1 The children and guarding against sabotage now present the greatest number of police-boat problems. 1975‘A. Hall’ Mandarin Cypher vii. 105 A police boat had put to sea at full speed.
1932Daily Tel. 23 May 12/2 A policeman was cut off in a *police-box by 10ft of water and had to be rescued. 1940R. Morrish Police & Crime-Detection iii. 36 Many police districts now possess their police-box system, by means of which officers performing duty in outlying districts are able to communicate with their stations. 1941Newsweek 13 Oct. 29 One of many air-raid precautions taken in the British capital for the expected winter Luftwaffe attacks is the building of ‘police boxes’ at street intersections. The reinforced brick shelters will protect London Bobbies on duty during Nazi air raids. 1971R. Amberley Ordinary Accident xiii. 116 Someone, evidently ringing from the police box on the Banbury road.
1946C. B. Jeppe Gold Mining on Witwatersrand II. xvi. 1758 On all the mines of the Witwatersrand (1943) there were 142 Europeans and 1,887 native ‘*police boys’ in the police organisation (underground and surface). 1961Quest Oct./Dec. 33/2 Motu prevailed over the candidates firstly because it was based on the speech of the police-boys who formed the larger part of the total mobilized section of the population, and secondly because these police-boys were much more accessible to the ordinary people than the English-speaking rulers. 1971Sunday Times (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. 16/5 This clause shall not apply to..labourers and watch men or police boys.
1889Act 52 & 53 Vict. c. 50 §105 The expression ‘*police burgh’ means a populous place, the boundaries whereof have been fixed and ascertained under the provisions of the General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862, or of the Act first therein recited, or under the provisions of any local Act.
1959M. Gilbert Blood & Judgement xii. 131 A *police cadet motor-cyclist was propping his machine up. 1976Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 12 Nov. 15/6 He wanted to become a police cadet—and had even been to the police station to find out details of what was involved in following this career.
1888‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms, xlix, All accounts..may be sent to the *Police Camp.
1834M. Edgeworth Let. in Tour in Connemara & Martins of Ballinahinch (1950) 93 The cottage at the end of the walk to Swinnerton, in which I believe a *police-captain Henderson lived in your time. 1902Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 674/1 The next grade above is that of sergeant. Above this comes the police captain. 1976H. Nielsen Brink of Murder xxi. 187 He's smart. He knew the odds against nailing a police captain.
1924A. Christie Poirot Investigates viii. 221 A large *police car was waiting for us, with some plain⁓clothes men. 1931E. S. Gardner Candy Kid in Case of Crying Swallow (1972) 92 The two men in the police car glimpsed boxes of candy in the rear of the sedan. 1971B. Patten Irrelevant Song 62 The sirens wailing on police-cars.
1898McClure's Mag. X. 547/2 He was still in the infirmary attached to the *police-cells. 1965D. Francis For Kicks xix. 240 Four nights and three days in a police cell. 1977J. Wainwright Do Nothin' xiii. 220 They are already on their way to some all-mod-con police cell.
1922Joyce Ulysses 180 *Police chargesheets crammed with cases get their percentage manufacturing crime.
1961Copp & Peck Betrayal at UN iv. xxi. 208 Colonel Frank Begley, former *Police Chief of Farmington, Conn., and now head of U.N. special police. 1974E. Ambler Dr Frigo ii. 104 How does he reward him? Make him police chief or head of intelligence? 1977H. Fast Immigrants i. 65 He could have Mayor McCarthy and Police Chief Martin as guests in his house.
1936N. Marsh Death in Ecstasy ix. 109 Have you been through the *Police College? 1958S. Hyland Who goes Hang? i. v. 24 The senior lecturer in forensic studies at any of your admirable police colleges. 1976Daily Mail (Hull) 16 Dec., He was chosen as the first member of that rank to go to the Police College at Ryton on Dunsmore.
1869Harper's Mag. Oct. 754/1 The system of relief that has now become the perplexity of the *Police Commissioners. 1911Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 11 Apr. 7/1 A meeting of the police commissioners will be held this afternoon..when the department's estimates for the year will be considered. 1977Hongkong Standard 12 Apr. 8/3 The courageous, determined and almost unique efforts of former Police Commissioner C.S. to root out internal graft backfired.
1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames 206 A ‘Caution against Pillage and Plunder’ which the *Police Constables were instructed to read aloud as soon as the Lumpers and Coopers were assembled. 1855London as it is 366 During two months out of every three, each police constable is on night duty.
1838Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XVIII. 252/1 Expediency of placing discharged criminals under *police control.
1939H. Hodge Cab, Sir? 236 A *police-controlled cross-roads. 1961Times 6 Dec. 15/5 Let him [sc. the Minister of Transport] give us more police-controlled and light-controlled crossings.
1970‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Cookie Bird xii. 193 I'd put a *police cordon round the house with orders not to let anyone through. 1979J. Gardner Nostradamus Traitor xvi. 59 He carried ID which would get him through any police cordon.
1866‘Mark Twain’ Lett. from Hawaii (1967) 28 The old *police courtroom in San Francisco.
1937C. Himes Black on Black (1973) 143 He broke away..before the *police cruiser got there. 1958‘Castle’ & ‘Hailey’ Flight into Danger viii. 107 At the turn-off from the main highway..a police cruiser stood..its roof-light blinking a constant warning. 1974Globe & Mail (Toronto) 16 Jan. 8/5 With the red light flashing, the police cruiser tails the motorist down the street and flags him over to the curb. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 2 July 8-b/4 In Louisville, police began a slowdown and 41 police cruisers notified headquarters they had been disabled by flat tires.
1810Rec. Early Hist. Boston (1904) XXXIII. 495 In the estimate of expences for the..year, a sum was named for the *police department. 1931E. S. Gardner Vanishing Corpse in Case of Crying Swallow (1972) 107 [He] was on terms of intimacy with most of the police department heads. 1963‘E. McBain’ Ten Plus One (1964) 24 The police department is a vast organization, and a detective is only an organization man. 1977H. Fast Immigrants ii. 110 In the annals of the San Francisco Police Department, a dead Chinese was statistically different from a dead Caucasian.
1973Tucson (Arizona) Daily Citizen 22 Aug. 11/1 *Police dispatcher Bill Pyles called an aid car, then began telling Mrs. Sweet how to keep little Jeremy from dying. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 2 July 1-a/2 Heagerty was about to be fined when a police dispatcher intervened and told the judge of Heagerty's plans.
1838Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XVIII. 249/2 The metropolitan *police district, according to that act [of 1829], consists of about ninety parishes, and ultra-parochial places, in and surrounding the metropolis. 1906Harmsworth Encycl. 4814/3 At the present time the Metropolitan Police district is nearly 700 square miles in extent.
1934M. Allingham Death of Ghost vii. 86 The altruistic murderer is rare, and of course I couldn't say what the chances of your being one were until we have the evidence of the *police doctor. 1972K. Royce Miniatures Frame viii. 103 If I knew anything of police doctors the fuzz would ring around for hours until one reluctantly agreed to come.
1908Daily Chron. 28 Aug. 7/2 Most of the principal German towns possess *police dogs. 1911Chambers's Jrnl. Feb. 136/1 What is needed as an ideal police-dog is an animal that can not only track well, but that can attack the criminal. 1925F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby ii. 32 I'd like to get one of those police dogs; I don't suppose you got that kind? 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XIV. 672/1 Police dogs. The training of dogs for police work was originally developed in Ghent, Belgium, about 1900 and was soon copied elsewhere.
1798Dk. Portland Let. 16 May in Colquhoun Comm. Thames (1800) 160 note, The expence of the Marine *Police Establishment, which appeared to me ought to be borne by Government.
1838Dickens in Bentley's Misc. Sept. 222 Professor Nogo wished to be informed what amount of automaton *police force it was proposed to raise. 1840Penny Cycl. XVIII. 334 The establishment of a new police force for the metropolis, in 1829, has done more towards exhibiting the advantages of employing a trained body of men for all the purposes for which the old constabulary was appointed, than any other circumstance. 1883A. K. Green Hand & Ring iii, He is a member of the police force. 1956H. Nicolson Diary 2 Nov. (1968) 314 There is a suggestion..that UNO should police the area, but it will take a long time before the police-force can be assembled. 1968Listener 21 Nov. 667/1 As I saw it, the UN must move quickly to set up some kind of international police force. 1976Daily Record (Glasgow) 4 Dec. 2/5 More than 1000 officers from every prison, police force, and state mental institution in the country turned up for the funeral service at Carnwath village in Lanarkshire.
1838Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XVIII. 251/1 An official newspaper, called the Hue and Cry or *Police Gazette, is also circulated amongst the authorities, throughout the kingdom.
1910*Police grip [see ju-jitsu].
1875M. D. Landon E. Perkins 237 The first thing you must do after the child is lost is to go to the *Police Headquarters. 1952Auden Nones 37 Between the burnt-out Law Courts and Police Headquarters. 1971W. J. Burley Guilt Edged i. 9 The new police headquarters on the outskirts of the city.
1935N. Mitchison We have been Warned iv. 453 She was knocked down..almost under the nose of a *police horse. 1973R. Busby Pattern of Violence x. 157 A troop of police horses from the mounted branch held the crowd back.
1969J. Wainwright Big Tickle 52 To live in his own house and not a ‘*police house’ gave Cohen a freedom denied most police officers. 1974L. Lamb Man in Mist viii. 51 Its [sic] P. C. Marchant, sir, who has the police house at Buntingbury.
1965N. Freeling Criminal Conversation ii. xx. 191 [He] looked like a gentleman... Janus had never imagined he might be a *police informer. 1969G. Greene Travels with my Aunt i. vii. 60 He suspected me to be some unsavoury police informer. 1977M. Kenyon Rapist vi. 73 Is it police informer I'm to be now, Sergeant?
1855Mrs. Gaskell North & S. xxxiv, ‘It's nothing, miss’, said Dixon..‘Only a *police-inspector. He wants to see you, miss.’ 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 289 If the police inspector pooh-poohed his appeal and turned him out of the police station.
1972E. Hargreaves Fair Green Weed vii. 89 A sergeant, a corporal and a young police doctor arrived in the *police jeep.
[1823Judge of Police: see police court.] 1862Act 25 & 26 Vict. c. 35 §25 If adjudged by any magistrate or *police judge of any royal or parliamentary burgh. 1956B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) ii. 23 It was Magistrate Jean Hortense Norris, the first woman police judge in New York, a tough hard-faced old dame. 1976Pioneer (Big Timber, Montana) 30 June 12/2 He served in the Armed Forces during World War II, was a Montana Highway Patrolman and a police judge for the City of Billings.
1937D. & H. Teilhet Feather Cloak Murders v. 85 The Chinese gentleman in the *police laboratory removed the wicked little steel dart from under the Zeiss microscope. 1974‘R. Tate’ Birds of Blooded Feather iii. 53 He's a policeman... Something to do with the police laboratories.
1940R. Morrish Police & Crime-Detection iii. 39 Some of the *police-launches on the river Thames are also fitted with radio. 1972Police Rev. 1 Dec. 1565/2 Section Officer Marshall swept the pale blue and white Police launch across the lake surface.
1975J. Aiken Voices in Empty House 15 The apartment was further defended by a *police lock, a rod which fastened into place on the back of the door and hooked into the floor, so that the door would not open beyond a certain point. 1976New Yorker 1 Mar. 33/2 She slammed the door and I heard the police lock snap into place, then silence.
1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames 199 Any *Police Magistrate..may assist the Magistrates in their judicial Functions. 1838Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XVIII. 250/1 When a complaint is made to a police magistrate he issues his warrant as he sees occasion, to a constable..or to one of the metropolitan force.
1883J. Shields in Trans. Highl. Soc. Agric. XV. 38 The whole was manured with *police manure—about 30 tons per acre.
1863Mrs. Atkinson Tartar Steppes 224 We drove to the house of the *police-master, who courteously invited us to be his guests.
1883Reade in Harper's Mag. Jan. 258/1 Vladimir got the promise of a *police mastership.
1934Webster, *Police matron. 1942A. Christie Body in Library xiv. 133 In the corner of Superintendent Harper's office sat an elderly lady... She was certainly no police matron. 1972R. Bloch Night-World (1974) xvii. 113 You'd have a police matron assigned to you, but they wouldn't put you in a cell.
1955M. Allingham Beckoning Lady ii. 72 Divisional Detective Chief Inspector Charles Luke..had emerged from hospital with..a recommendation for the coveted *Police Medal. 1977‘A. York’ Tallant for Trouble ii. 13 He had proved..a good policeman..his courage during one of Guyana's mini-revolutions had earned him a Queen's Police Medal.
1938N. Marsh Artists in Crime xv. 219 The B.B.C. had instructions to send out a *police message. 1941B.B.C. Gloss. Broadcasting Terms 23 Police Message, message broadcast at the request of the police authorities. 1968T. Stoppard Real Inspector Hound 13 We interrupt our programme for a special police message.
1808W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. XXVI. 111 For the sake of pretending to be useful, these new *police-mongers will pry into every peculiarity, and meddle with every amusement of the people.
1896G. B. Shaw Our Theatres in Nineties (1932) II. 223 As a novel, I can pass my idle hour with it, just as Bismarck used to pass his with the *police novels of Du Boisgobey. 1908G. K. Chesterton All Things Considered 116 The police novel..permits privacy only to explode and smash privacy. 1972J. Symons Bloody Murder xiv. 197 The police novel, or the police-procedural as it has recently been called, concentrates upon the detailed investigation of a crime from the point of view of the police.
1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames 206 A gang of Lumpers..quitted their employment instantly on the appearance of the *Police Officers. 1806A. Duncan Nelson's Fun. 26 Special, petty, and other constables, and all the police officers of every description..were on duty. 1844J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. vi, He returned with a police-officer. 1976M. Underwood Menaces xii. 114 Having been a police officer, she was much better equipped than most to be the wife of one.
1938M. Allingham Fashion in Shrouds xx. 360 [He] made the suggestion as if he were announcing a rich gift to the *Police Orphanage. 1972M. Gilbert Body of Girl xxiii. 199 Any unclaimed money goes to the Police Orphanage.
1899Somerville & ‘Ross’ Some Experiences Irish R.M. iii. 63 Flurry espied the *police patrol on the road. 1936‘N. Blake’ Thou Shell of Death xiv. 258 On the main road he'd have to go straight for a bit, and the police patrols would be out. 1947Sun (Baltimore) 7 May 7/3 At first, the jail visitors balked at riding to the prison in a police patrol wagon. 1969M. Pugh Last Place Left xxix. 209, I suppose you'll recognize a police patrol car? 1974Times 4 Oct. 3/3 She was given the task of observing the strength of police patrols.
1943G. Greene Ministry of Fear iii. i. 163 A *police photograph is like a passport photograph... We protest: This isn't me. 1965E. S. Gardner Case of Beautiful Beggar (1972) 7 He took us into the police laboratory and museum, and started explaining the cases on which he had worked..all..illustrated by police photographs. 1978‘A. Garve’ Counterstroke i. 38 There were two police photographs, full face and profile.
1931M. Allingham Police at Funeral xv. 206 Mr. Bowditch and a *police photographer had completed their work on the footprint. 1970W. J. Burley To kill a Cat i. 21 The police photographers..had already taken pictures of the undisturbed room.
1907Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 642/1 Colt's new *police positive revolver. 1931‘G. Trevor’ Murder at School xii. 244 This is what is called a Colt Point 22 Police Positive. Not a nice thing to be plugged with. 1975J. Gores Hammett (1976) xxxii. 221 He took out the long-barreled police positive... He thumbed back the hammer.
1827U.S. Supreme Court Rep. XXV. 442 The power to direct the removal of gun-powder is a branch of the *police power which unquestionably remains..with the states. 1932N. M. Butler Looking Forward xi. 168 ‘Police power’—which in American law means the principle that the public interest often requires the extension of government authority in repression..of individual activity or habit. 1964Gould & Kolb Dict. Social Sciences 508/2 Police power may be defined as the broad and elastic power of government especially of one of the states of the United States, to restrict, control, regulate, and restrain individuals and groups in the use of their liberty and property in order to protect and promote the health, safety, morals, convenience, peace, order, and general welfare of other individuals and the public generally.
1967Punch 16 Aug. 256/1 *Police-procedural thrillers must be original to compete, yet, of their nature, ordinarily plausible. 1972‘L. Egan’ Paper Chase (1973) iii. 40 She'd always read mysteries, but mostly..what they call the police-procedural ones. 1972[see police novel above]. 1977Time 27 June 56/2 Laidlaw is also the first police procedural by Scottish Author William McIlvanney.
1885Encycl. Brit. XIX. 337/1 If they [sc. orders having the approval of the secretary of state for the government of the metropolitan police] are carefully considered and prepared, their issue must produce a uniform code of *police procedure for the force. 1974Publishers Weekly 5 Aug. 51/2 European police procedure buffs might enjoy this, but the author makes it hard for the reader to grapple with the evidence. 1976‘J. Charlton’ Remington Set iii. 18, I wish I had a book somewhere I could look up police procedure in.
1901Sketch 17 July 518/2 Herr Kubelik..will have to be *police-protected against the patrons of Señor Sarasate.
1908London Mag. Oct. 240, I would demand *police protection. 1942E. Paul Narrow St. xvi. 125 Mariette..footed the bills of the establishment,..arranged police protection and gave the place its personality and reputation for fair play. 1972C. Drummond Death at Bar i. 40 Hundreds of people in this wicked city would relish the idea of police protection.
1958A. Budrys in Venture Sci. Fict. Mar. 14/2 He'd used a *police radio often enough. 1975Listener 2 Jan. 26/1 The loudspeakers..crackled with voices from a police radio in the streets.
1919G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House p. xx, The ordinary law was superseded by Acts under which newspapers were seized and their printing machinery destroyed by simple *police raids à la Russe. 1933J. Buchan Prince of Captivity iii. i. 277 That cheerful party broke up in confusion... Yes, a police raid. 1975Country Life 16 Jan. 155/1 A recent police raid led to the arrest of a well-organized gang.
1863Alcock Capit. Tycoon I. 28 They pay road and *police-rates.
a1911D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. xi. 277 Once in the pariah class, once with a ‘*police record’. 1950T. Walsh Nightmare in Manhattan iv. 106 Calhoun was examining his police record, which was long and bad. 1972J. Wainwright Night is Time to Die 92 He has no police record. No previous convictions.
1802C. Wilmot Diary in Irish Peer on Continent (1920) 61 It is a good display of the *Police regulations, for such order, method, and tranquillity I cou'd not have imagined. 1853E. Twisleton Let. 23 May (1928) v. 85 Owing to the recent revolts, all the police-regulations were doubled in stringency. 1938R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art xi. 255 Philosophical controversies are not to be settled by a kind of police-regulation governing people's choice of words. 1978N. Freeling Night Lords i. 7 It was forbidden to park on the bridge. A lot Castang cared for municipal police regulations—.
1837H. Martineau Society in America I. i. iii. 77 The disgustingly jocose tone of their [sc. British] *police reports, where crimes are treated as entertainments. 1882C. M. Yonge Three Brides xix. 265 Such disgraces to England as I see in your police reports—brutal mechanics beating their wives. 1915F. M. Hueffer Good Soldier i. iii. 31, I used..to inspect the little police reports that each guest was expected to sign upon taking a room. 1976J. Lee Ninth Man 257 Most of our leads so far have come from police reports.
1834Sun (N.Y.) 23 July 2/3 Your *police reporter be one dam liar. 1959[see corn belt s.v. corn n.1 11]. 1977L. Meyer Capitol Crime i. 9 The story..was Sid Jacobson's, our police reporter.
1885Globe 20 Apr. 1/4 The comparatively rare complaint of being too much *police-ridden. 1887Times (weekly ed.) 23 Sept. 3/4 The patience of this police-ridden nation.
1818Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXIII. 520 *Police-runners had never been thought of as protectors of the lives of the Members of the two Houses.
1961Webster, *Police science. 1971Publishers' Weekly 6 Dec. 22/3 The Glencoe Press..is doing very well with curricula in such new areas as fire science and police science. 1979Internat. Jrnl. Sociol. of Law Feb. 112 Solomon's Soviet criminologists seem to be very similar to American ‘police science’ experts and to government scientific officers anywhere in the West.
1957Encycl. Brit. XII. 562/2 A *police scientist does not have to be an expert in every branch of chemical analysis to use these instruments effectively. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 3-b/2 Ticks enclosed in an envelope received in the mail..were being studied by police scientists Tuesday to see if they were..infected with numerous diseases.
1852Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 204 In the kitchen stood two *police-sergeants.
1827Hone Every-day Bk. II. 329 He went on board the *police-ship stationed on the Thames.
1937‘M. Innes’ Hamlet, Revenge! ii. i. 98 Billups would not have thought to requisition a fire-engine, the Prime Minister had. Its bell, he explained, gained more respect than did a *police siren. 1956B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) viii. 77 When the bus pulled out, you could hear the old sheriff's police siren coming after us. 1974M. Birmingham You can help Me v. 132 The police sirens wailed up the street.
1959I. Jefferies Thirteen Days viii. 100 The Legion officers had thirty-eight *police specials, the peak of revolver achievement. 1970‘J. Morris’ Candywine Development xxiv. 263 That guy; he's holding something heavy. Police Special, maybe, or a ·44 magnum.
1849J. S. Mill in Westm. Rev. LI. 4 Chenu..is now admitted to have been.. a *police spy. c1874D. Boucicault in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1969) II. 193 The police spy—Harvey Duff—the man that denounced me. 1897E. L. Voynich Gadfly (1904) 114/1 ‘I am a minister of religion’, he said, ‘not a police-spy.’ 1922J. Hergesheimer Bright Shawl (1923) 66 Probably we are all ruined... The police spies will be waiting for us at home. 1973G. Sims Hunters Point xviii. 165 You police spies don't seem to be a very efficient bunch, letting an old man be drowned while you are supposed to be keeping a watch on him.
Ibid. 166 It's just more *police spying activity.
1868N.Y. Herald 2 July 8/3 Dr. Waterman, *police surgeon, was called and dressed the wounds. 1928D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club xxi. 274 ‘Nervous shock with well-marked delusions,’ said the police surgeon. 1978N. Freeling Night Lords v. 23 I'll have the Parquet and the police surgeon standing by. Autopsy and lab report.
1885Encycl. Brit. XIX. 336/2 The *police system of necessity involves the existence in a district of police stations or lock-ups, for the temporary detention of prisoners.
a1963C. S. Lewis Discarded Image (1964) v. 94 On the imaginative and emotional level it makes a great difference whether, with the medievals, we project upon the universe our strivings and desires, or with the moderns, our police-system and our traffic regulations.
1884Chr. World 20 Mar. 206/1 He has advised the farmers..to refuse to pay the *police-tax.
1903World's Work July 123/2 To set *police traps for a man going thirteen miles an hour on an open road is sheer idiocy. 1914Beerbohm James Pethel in English Rev. Dec. 18 In France he always rather missed the British police-traps. 1966M. R. D. Foot SOE in France vii. 173 The others fell successively into a Vichy police trap..at the Villa des Bois. 1974J. Wainwright Evidence iv. 23 Motorways..were..police traps: box canyons into which a man on the run could be flushed and cornered.
1902Pall Mall Mag. XXVIII. 410/2 Every police-constable on the much-*police-trapped Ripley Road.
1859G. A. Sala Twice round Clock 201 Then..troublesome bodies..are securely shackled and straight-waistcoated up, and carted away in *police-vans. 1976Deakin & Willis Johnny go Home ii. 49 She was in a police van on her way to Holloway.
1884Sweet & Knox Through Texas iv. 50 He began blowing a *police-whistle. 1922Joyce Ulysses 160 Police whistle in my ears still. 1967O. Wynd Walk Softly x. 163, I..blew a long blast on a police whistle. 1979J. Scott Clutch of Vipers x. 175 A whistle blew. A good old-fashioned police whistle such as is rarely heard nowadays.
1932‘Solicitor’ Eng. Justice iii. 94 On his version, supported by witnesses, he was clearly innocent. He seemed surprised when I said he was to plead ‘Not guilty’, and said, ‘But there's a *police witness.’.. He got off. 1979Internat. Jrnl. Sociol. of Law Feb. 71 The average Nigerian..believes that to be a police witness is almost as bad as being the criminal offender.
1853Hickie tr. Aristoph. (1872) II. 398 You say well. Where is the *policewoman? 1894Westm. Gaz. 13 June 3/3 A plea for policewomen. a1930D. H. Lawrence Apocalypse (1931) xvi. 233 Ah woman, you have known many bitter experiences. But never, never before have you been condemned by the old dragon to be a policewoman. 1955W. Gaddis Recognitions ii. vi. 560 A policewoman handed that nomadic laundress over to the stronger arm of the law. 1976Birmingham Post 16 Dec. 3/5 Policewoman Susan Oliver, who was the first police officer on the scene, said lights on the side of the lorry's trailer were illuminated at the time of the accident.
1937‘M. Innes’ Hamlet, Revenge! ii. ii. 112 In plain *police-work you could usually go straight for the truth. 1960‘E. McBain’ Give Boys Great Big Hand (1962) iii. 20 Police work is not for you..if you..believe that corpses ‘look just like they're sleeping’. 1977L. Meynell Hooky gets Wooden Spoon xiii. 152 The basic rule of police work—get it down on paper.
Hence poˈliceful a., nonce-word full of policemen; poˈliceless a., without police; policeocracy, nonce-word the rule of the police.
1903Speaker 9 May 133/1 To substitute a peaceful for a *policeful Ireland.
1882E. W. Hamilton Diary 2 Sept. (1972) I. 331 It was determined yesterday to dismiss summarily those insubordinate men; and the act of their dismissal was followed by the resignation of the force en masse. Accordingly Dublin is *police-less. 1898Westm. Gaz. 30 June 1/3 Chevaliers of industry migrating to a policeless Alsatia. 1900H. G. Graham Soc. Life Scot. in 18th C. vii. i. (1901) 230 When a rare opportunity happened in policeless, jailless districts they [statutes] were carried out with rigour.
1887Pall Mall G. 14 July 1 A Protest against *Policeocracy.
Add:[6.] policeperson [see person n. 2 f], a gender-neutral term for a policeman or policewoman (not standard).
1978R. Hill Pinch of Snuff ix. 94 ‘For a *policeperson,’ she said, ‘you are not too idiotic.’ 1981J. K. Galbraith Life in our Times xxx. 485 Chairperson, Congressperson, Policeperson.
▪ II. police, v.|pəˈliːs, pəʊ-|
Also 7 pollice.
[In senses 1, 2, a. F. policer (formerly politier, policier) (1461 in Godef.), f. policie, police; in senses 3, 4, f. police n.]
†1. intr. or absol. ? To enclose and improve land; to make policies. Sc. Obs. (Cf. policy n.1 II.)
1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 106 The nobillis als of thame tha had sic want, But thame micht nother police nor ȝit plant. Ibid. 144 And gaif thame landis as tha lest, To plant and police quhair thame lykit best.
†2.
a. trans. To keep in (civil) order, organize, regulate (a state or country). Chiefly in pass. Obs.
1589,1605[see policing vbl. n. a]. a1614Donne βιαθανατος (1644) 78 Humane lawes, by which Kingdomes are policed. 1670Tryal R. Moor, etc. in Phenix (1721) I. 406 Complaining of Julius Cæsar's Violation of that course of Law whereby the State was polliced. 1689–90Temple Ess. Heroic Virt. Wks. 1731 I. 205 By such Methods and Orders, the Kingdom of China seems to be framed and policed with the utmost Force and Reach of Human Wisdom, Reason and Contrivance. 1791W. Maxwell in Boswell Johnson an. 1770 (1831) I. 389 That country must be ill policed, and wretchedly governed.
b. To make or keep clean or orderly; to clean up (a camp): cf. police n. 3 c. Also const. up, as of an area: cf. clean v. 6 c. U.S.
1851Colburn's United Service Mag. LXVII. 57 All hands were then distributed in separate parties..to ‘police’ or clean round the garrison. 1862Trollope N. Amer. II. vii. 192 Of the camps..44 per cent. [were] fairly clean and well policed. 1930Amer. Speech V. 380 Nearly all our old army expressions were taken to France with the A.E.F. Bunk fatigue,..police up, and salvage are some of these. 1956Ibid. XXXI. 108 Police up (clean up an area). 1968Listener 9 May 594/2 ‘Last night we policed up two sampans, killing six enemy,’ said an Airborne major in modest triumph. 1977M. Herr Dispatches i. 26 Some troops..were pissing on the ground... The men finished..and walked away laughing, leaving the captain alone shouting orders to police up the filth, thousands of empty and half-eaten ration cans, soggy clots of Stars and Stripes, and M-16 that someone had just left lying there and, worse, evidence of a carelessness unimaginable to the captain, it stank even in the cold rain, but it would police itself in an hour or two if the rain kept up.
3. a. To control, regulate, or keep in order by means of the police, or some similar force.
1841R. Oastler Fleet Papers I. No. 22. 176 Englishmen are too fond of Royalty to submit to be commissioned, and centralized, and policed, and bastiled. 1855Browning Bp. Blougram 469 A vague idea of setting things to rights, Policing people efficaciously. 1891Review of Rev. 14 Mar. 214/2 The maintenance of the navy which polices the seas. 1899S. R. Gardiner Cromwell 183 The plan of policing the country by a militia of Major-Generals had broken down financially.
b. To furnish, provide, or guard with a police force, or some force having similar functions.
1858Times 4 Nov. 6/5 Even the mouth of the Canton River may perhaps be well policed. 1868G. Duff Pol. Surv. 84 They are building gunboats to police their coasts. 1882Spectator 11 Mar. 315/1 Why should not dangerous districts be decently policed?
c. fig. To keep in order, administer, control.
1885F. W. Maitland Justice & Police x. 112 The Cornish St. Ives, without a commission of the peace, polices, or lately policed, itself. 1886Symonds Renaiss. It., Cath. React. (1898) I. ii. 89 He..left that institution [the Inquisition]..to pursue its function of policing the ecclesiastical realm. 1893K. Grahame Pagan Papers (1894) 104 Policing the valleys with barbed wires. 1928R. Stranger Wireless xii. 150 Being policed by the aerial potentials the filament electrons will pass through in varying numbers. 1943Sun (Baltimore) 13 Dec. 18/1 Lucien E. D. Gaudreau, area rent director, said yesterday that the agency definitely will not ‘police’ rent regulations. 1946R.A.F. Jrnl. May 176 The future work of B.A.F.O. is to police the Reich in the sky. 1946Rep. Internat. Control Atomic Energy (U.S. Dept. of State) ii. iii. 15 While suppression is not possible where we are dealing with the quest for knowledge, this thirst to know (that cannot be ‘policed’ out of existence) can be used. 1970T. Lupton Managem. & Social Sci. (ed. 2) ii. 52 The organization cannot effectively police every individual item of behaviour. 1974Socialist Worker 26 Oct. 14/5 It seems now that the social contract is to be policed by trade union leaders. 1977Time 15 Aug. 37/2 He believes that fund members will approve some new articles that will enable him to police currency exchange rates.
4. To do out of, do away, or bring into a state or place by police administration.
1839Morning Herald 17 June, That work of destruction by which the British nation is to be policed out of its immemorial liberties and franchises. 1876Birch Rede Lect. Egypt 40 Internal administration and microscopic regulations had policed away the spirit of the people.
▪ III. police
obs. form of policy n.2, polish v. |