“Sheriff”

The word “sheriff” is a contraction of the term “shire reeve”. The term, from the Old English scirgerefa, designated a royal official responsible for keeping the peace (a “reeve”) throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king. From the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms the term spread to several other countries, at an early point to Scotland, latterly to Ireland and the United States.

Pheeww, more than half way now.

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