- Originally, an officer who had the care of horses; a groom.(Obs)
- An officer of high rank, charged with the arrangement of ceremonies, the conduct of operations, or the likeas, specifically:
- One who goes before a prince to declare his coming and provide entertainment; a harbinger; a pursuivant.
- One who regulates rank and order at a feast or any other assembly, directs the order of procession, and the like.
- The chief officer of arms, whose duty it was, in ancient times, to regulate combats in the lists.
Johnson. - [France]
The highest military officer.
field marshal - [Am. Law]
A ministerial officer, appointed for each judicial district of the United States, to execute the process of the courts of the United States, and perform various duties, similar to those of a sheriff. The name is also sometimes applied to certain police officers of a city.
- One who goes before a prince to declare his coming and provide entertainment; a harbinger; a pursuivant.
Etymology: OE. mareschal, OF. mareschal, F. maréchal, LL. mariscalcus, from OHG. marah-scalcG. marschall); marah horse + scalc servant (akin to AS. scealc, Goth. skalks). F. maréchal signifies, a marshal, and a farrier. See Mare horse, and cf. Seneschal