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Glite Dictionary
serjeant-at-arms

serjeant-at-arms

9.9
An officer who keeps order in a parliament or court and carries out official orders
  • noun
  • /ˈsərjənt-ət-ˈärmz/
  • UK
translation icon : serjeante de armas
  • During the session, the serjeant-at-arms was tasked with escorting unruly individuals out of the meeting.

Examples

  • The serjeant-at-arms received the official orders from the chairman and prepared to execute them promptly.

  • The serjeant-at-arms entered the chamber to ensure that all members adhered to the rules of conduct.

  • Dawson and Downey walk to the sergeant at arms and begin to follow him up the aisle and out of the courtroom.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

marshal
vsserjeant-at-arms
  • Formal
77 6.7

An official who makes sure people follow court orders

focuses on maintaining order and carrying out official commands within institutions
bailiff
vsserjeant-at-arms
  • Specialized
53 7.2

A court officer who delivers legal papers and keeps order in court

applies to officers in both legislative bodies and courts, not only courtroom duties
sergeant at arms
vsserjeant-at-arms
  • Formal
3 7.3

A person who keeps order and makes people follow rules in a meeting or court

is the same role but is an alternative form of the name

Surface Forms

serjeant-at-arms singular
serjeants-at-arms plural

Morphology

serjeant-at-arms = serjeant + arms (semi-transparent) = at + serjeant + arms

The components 'serjeant' + 'at' + 'arms' are recognisable, but the specific institutional role ('officer responsible for order') is a conventionalized, specialised meaning not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Serjeant-at-arms comes from old words meaning servant and arms, where 'servant' is the idea behind serve and 'arms' means 'weapons'. So a serjeant-at-arms was originally a 'servant with weapons' who kept order, which explains why today they enforce rules and carry out official commands.