the officer in charge of military police and thus responsible for military discipline in a large camp, area, or city
provost marshal in American English
(ˈprouvou)
noun
1. Army
an officer on the staff of a commander, charged with the maintaining of order and with other police functions within a command
2. Navy
an officer charged with the safekeeping of a prisoner pending trial by court-martial
Word origin
[1525–35]This word is first recorded in the period 1525–35. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: folio, function, inflection, qualify, society