constable

plural constables

1. One holding the lowest rank in most Commonwealth police forces. (See also chief constable.)

   As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once.

   1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC

2. UKlawA police officer or an officer with equivalent powers.
3. historicalAn officer of a noble court in the Middle Ages, usually a senior army commander. (See also marshal).
4. The warden of a castle.
5. USAn elected or appointed public officer, usually at municipal level, responsible for maintaining order or serving writs and court orders.
6. Channel IslandsAn elected head of a parish (also known as a connétable)
7. A large butterfly, Dichorragia nesimachus, family Nymphalidae, of Asia.

present singular third person constables · participle present constabling · participle past constabled · past constabled

1. datedintransitiveTo act as a constable or policeman.

plural Constables

1. countableuncountableAn English surname originating as an occupation from Old French conestable (“constable”).

   John Constable, English painter.

2. countableuncountableA town in Franklin County, New York; named for landowner William Constable.