shirreve

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

    From Old English sċīrġerēfa; equivalent to shire (shire) +‎ reve.

    The presence of /f/ in variant forms may be due to analogy with nouns that end with /f/ in the singular, but have /v/ in the plural such as leef and thef.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈʃireːv(ə)/, /ˈʃ(ɛ)reːv(ə)/, /ˈʃiːreːv(ə)/, /ˈʃɛriv(ə)/, /ˈʃirif(ə)/, /ˈʃɛrif(ə)/

    Noun

    shirreve (plural shireves)

    1. A sheriff; a person responsible for a number of different tasks, including law enforcement and judicial responsibilities.
    2. Any administrative deputy or official.

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • English: sheriff, shrieve
    • Scots: shirra

    References