Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BAIL'IF, n. [Fr. baillif; Arm. belly; Scot. bailli; It. bailo, a magistrate; balia, power, authority. Ch. Ar. Heb. Syr. בעל, lord, chief. Class Bl.]

In England, an officer appointed by the sherif. Bailifs are either special, and appointed, for their adroitness, to arrest persons; or bailifs of hundreds, who collect fines, summon juries, attend the assizes, and execute writs and process. The sherif in England is the king's bailif. There are also bailifs of liberties, appointed by the lords in their respective jurisdictions, to execute process, and perform other duties; bailifs of forests and of manors, who direct the husbandry, collect rents, &c.; and water-bailifs in each port, to search vessels, gather toll for anchorage, arrest persons for debt on the water, &c. – Blackstone. Encyc. The office of bailif formerly was high and honorable in England, and officers under that title on the Continent are still invested with important functions.