bobby English · revision 6468

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=eponym|attested=1844}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɒbi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbɑbi/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the pet form of the name [[Bob]], [[Robert]], in allusion to Sir Robert Peel, who as Home Secretary organized the London Metropolitan Police in 1829.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A London policeman: 1844,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) 1839 in MWU.^(MWU 2024)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The police were first called [[peeler|alt=peelers]], also after Peel, replacing the earlier Charlies or watchmen.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) SOED notes that Peel had earlier founded the Irish constabulary.^(SOED 2002) The word is now an informal, rather old-fashioned name for a British police officer.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1829 – the Metropolitan Police Act.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – bobby, a policeman.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(British, informal)'' A [[police officer]], especially one on foot patrol.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[peeler]]

+ * [[copper]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ A bobby calf is a calf slaughtered soon after birth (1927), from a different source, probably bob, short.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) In Warwickshire and Devon dialect a bobby was a robin, and in Scots a grandfather.^(Wright 1898)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}