police
[ puh-lees ]
/ pəˈlis /
noun
verb (used with object), po·liced, po·lic·ing.
to regulate, control, or keep in order by or as if by means of police.
Military.
to clean and keep clean (a camp, post, etc.)
Origin of police
1520–30; < Middle French: government, civil administration, police < Late Latin
polītia citizenship, government, for Latin
polītīa; see
polity
pronunciation note for police
Many English words exemplify the original stress rule of Old English and other early Germanic languages, according to which all parts of speech except unprefixed verbs were stressed on the first syllable, and prefixed verbs were stressed on the syllable immediately following the prefix. Although the scope of this rule has been greatly restricted by the incorporation into English of loanwords that exhibit other stress patterns, the rule has always remained operative to some degree, and many loanwords have been conformed to it throughout the history of English. For South Midland and Midland U.S. speakers in particular, shifting the stress in borrowed nouns from a noninitial syllable to the first syllable is still an active process, yielding
[poh-lees] /ˈpoʊ lis/ for
police and
[dee-troit] /ˈdi trɔɪt/ for
Detroit, as well as
cement, cigar, guitar, insurance, umbrella, and
idea said as
[see-ment] /ˈsi mɛnt/,
[see-gahr] /ˈsi gɑr/,
[git-ahr] /ˈgɪt ɑr/,
[in-shoo r-uh ns] /ˈɪn ʃʊər əns/,
[uhm-brel-uh] /ˈʌm brɛl ə/, and
[ahy-deeuh] /ˈaɪ diə/.
OTHER WORDS FROM police
Words nearby police
poleyn,
polglish,
poli sci,
poliakoff,
polianite,
police,
police action,
police car,
police court,
police dog,
police force
Example sentences from the Web for policing
British Dictionary definitions for policing
police
/ (pəˈliːs) /
noun
- the police the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc
- (as modifier)a police inquiry
(functioning as plural)
the members of such a force collectively
any organized body with a similar function
security police
archaic
- the regulation and control of a community, esp in regard to the enforcement of law, the prevention of crime, etc
- the department of government concerned with this
verb (tr)
Word Origin for police
C16: via French from Latin
polītīa administration, government; see
polity