police constable
1
2.8
- noun
- /pəˈliːs ˈkɒnstəbl/
- UK
:
agente de policía
- Appeal court justices did not normally visit police constables in their lodging houses.
Examples
-
Villager 2: Call the police constable!
Fiction book (1999) -
The police constable arrived quickly to assist with the traffic accident.
-
"Everywhere," wrote a police constable, "I find myself up against a stone wall."
Academic text (1991) -
The police constables filed an incident report.
-
There were no police constables in the villages, and none were needed.
Academic text (2000) -
The police constable who monitors and keeps all the other pets in line.
Blog text (7) -
'Police constables McDonald and Harrison stand up?'
-
'How what was described as a Chicago-style gun battle ensued' 'as a result of which, one police constable was killed' 'and another wounded.'
-
When he was young, an unpopular senior dean suffered the indignity of being approached by a police constable, following information that confused his identity with an elderly draper's assistant who hung around public lavatories.
Fiction book (1998) -
During the festival, the police constable patrolled the streets to ensure everyone's safety.
Synonyms
∞
6.3
A person who works for the police
∞
1.2
A person who works for the police and enforces the law
560
1.1
A person who keeps people safe and stops crime
303
1.0
A man whose job is to keep people safe and enforce laws
99
4.1
A police officer of low rank who works in local communities
33
9.0
A police officer who keeps people safe and enforces laws
28
4.2
A police officer who walks around an area to keep people safe
16
1.1
A woman who works as a police officer
1
5.8
A female police officer who patrols an area to keep people safe
How Senior
27
4.6
93
3.2
- US
10
3.3
- US
4
3.7
6
3.1
- UK
1
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'police' (law-enforcement organization) with 'constable' (a low-ranking officer); together they denote a police officer of the lowest rank. This follows normal noun–noun composition patterns and has clear parallels in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the MWE.
Etymology
The term police constable joins police with the old word constable, which once meant a trusted man who looked after a lord's horses and later acted as a local officer. Because a 'constable' came to mean someone who 'keeps order', today a police constable is a front-line officer who helps keep the peace in the community.