| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| gendarme |
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| SYLLABICATION: | gen·darme |
| PRONUNCIATION: | zhän därm , zhä därm |
| NOUN: | 1. A member of the French national police organization constituting a branch of the armed forces with responsibility for general law enforcement. 2. Slang A police officer. | | ETYMOLOGY: | French, from Old French gent d'armes, gendarme, sing. of gens d'armes, mounted soldiers, men-at-arms : gens, people, men (from Latin gent s, pl. of g ns, clan; see gen - in Appendix I) + de, of (from Latin d ; see de) + armes, pl. of arme, weapon; see arm2.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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