posse English · revision 1315

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɒs.i/ ''(UK)''; /ˈpɑs.i/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is short for ''[[posse comitatus]]'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[la-med|posse comitātūs|t=the force of the county]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''posse'' “power, body of men”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) a noun use of Latin ''posse'' “to be able”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) and ''comitātūs'' “of the county”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[potent]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In law, the body of men a sheriff could summon (1314–15 in Anglo-Latin contexts in the OED).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates the general sense “an armed force” to 1645.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, explains the posse comitatus as all the men a sheriff was empowered to call on to keep the peace.^(Etymonline) From 1645 the word meant any armed force or band,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and from 1691 a body of citizens summoned by a sheriff.^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline suggests the modern slang sense of a small gang or group of friends probably comes from Western films.^(Etymonline) In the 1980s it was used of Jamaican criminal gangs.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1314–15 – the sheriff's force, in law.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1626 – ''posse comitatus''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1645 – an armed force or band.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1691 – citizens summoned by a sheriff.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1986 – a Jamaican criminal gang.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A group of people summoned by a [[sheriff]] to help keep the peace or catch a criminal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A search party.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A group of people with a common interest; a gang of friends or an [[entourage]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A Jamaican criminal gang.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[in posse]]

+ * [[posse comitatus]]

+ * [[potent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}