English

police

/pəˈliːs/
A constituted body of officers representing the civil authority of government, empowered to maintain public order and safety, enforce the law, and prevent, detect, and investigate crime.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From Middle French police, from Latin polītīa (“state, government”), from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía). Doublet of policy, polis (“police”), and polity.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • derivedMiddle Frenchpolice
      • borrowedLatinpolītīa
        • borrowedAncient Greekπολιτεία “citizenship; polis, (city) state; government”
          • partAncient Greekπολῑ́της “citizen”
            • partAncient Greekπόλις “city state; city”
              • inheritedProto-Hellenic*ptólis
            • partAncient Greek-της “forming abstract nouns”
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*-tós
          • partAncient Greek-ία “forming abstract nouns”
            • inheritedProto-Hellenic*-íā
              • inheritedProto-Indo-European*-éh₂

    Related: English policy (doublet), English polity (doublet), English polis (doublet)

    Words built on it: police state, police work

    Sources