Editing Constable (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:Constable Dannatt.jpg|thumb|left|[[Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt|General Sir Richard Dannatt]], dressed in the [[formal attire]] of the [[Constable of the Tower]], speaking at the Ceremony of the Constable's Dues, June 2010]]

Etymologically, the word ''constable'' is a loan from Old French ''conestable'' (Modern French ''connétable''),<ref name="EnE">p. 93b-283a, T. F. Hoad, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' (Oxford University Press, 1993)</ref> itself from [[Late Latin]] ''[[comes stabuli]]'', ([[comes|attendant]] to the [[stable]]s, literally 'count of the stable') and originated from the [[Roman Empire]]; originally, the constable was the officer responsible for keeping the horses of a [[lord]] or [[monarch]].<ref name="kofk">p103, Bruce, Alistair, ''Keepers of the Kingdom'' (Cassell, 2002), {{ISBN|0-304-36201-8}}</ref><ref name="eb">[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9025958/constable Constable], Encyclopædia Britannica online</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= The Principles of Policing, p. 7|author= Pike, Michael S|publisher= The Macmillan Press Ltd|year= 1985|isbn= 0-333-38245-5}}</ref><ref name="EnE"/>

The title was imported to the [[monarchy|monarchies]] of [[Middle Ages|medieval]] Europe, and in many countries developed into a high [[military rank]] and great officer of state (e.g. the [[Constable of France]], in French ''Connétable de France'', who was the commander-in-chief of all royal armed forces (second to the king) until Prime Minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]] abolished the charge in 1627).

Most constables in modern jurisdictions are [[Police|law enforcement]] officers. In the United Kingdom, the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and some Continental European countries, a constable is the lowest rank of police officer (it is also, when preceded by the term ''sworn'', used to describe any police officer with arrest and other powers), while in the United States a constable is generally an elected [[peace officer]] with lesser jurisdiction than a [[sheriff]]; however, in the [[Channel Islands]] a constable is an elected office-holder at the [[civil parish|parish]] level.

Historically, a constable could also refer to a [[castellan]], the officer charged with the defence of a castle. Even today, there is a [[Constable of the Tower of London]].

An equivalent position is that of [[marshal]], which is from Old French ''mareschal'' (Modern French ''maréchal''), itself from Old Frankish ''*marskalk'', attested by [[Medieval Latin]] ''mariscalcus'' from a [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*maraχskalkaz'' (cf. [[Old High German]] ''marahschalh''), a compound of ''*maraz'' "horse" (cf. English ''mare'') and ''*skalkaz'' "servant" (cf. Old English ''sċealc'' "servant, retainer, member of a crew" )<ref name="EnE"/><ref name="Etl">{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/marshal |title=marshal |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=2018-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803131944/https://www.etymonline.com/word/marshal |archive-date=2018-08-03 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Chambers 20th Century Dictionary|editor=E. M. Kirkpatrick|publisher=W & R Chambers Ltd|location=Edinburgh|year=1983|page=772|isbn=0-550-10234-5}}</ref> and originally meant "stable keeper, horse tender, groom".<ref name="Etl"/>