noun
- a military officer of the highest rank, as in the French and some other armies.Compare field marshal.
- an administrative officer of a U.S. judicial district who performs duties similar to those of a sheriff.
- a court officer serving processes, attending court, giving personal service to the judges, etc.
- the chief of a police or fire department in some cities.
- a police officer in some communities.
- sky marshal.
- a higher officer of a royal household or court.
- an official charged with the arrangement or regulation of ceremonies, parades, etc.: the marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
verb (used with object), mar·shaled, mar·shal·ing or (especially British) mar·shalled, mar·shal·ling.
- to arrange in proper order; set out in an orderly manner; arrange clearly: to marshal facts; to marshal one’s arguments.
- to array, as for battle.
- to usher or lead ceremoniously: Their host marshaled them into the room.
- Heraldry. to combine (two or more coats of arms) on a single escutcheon.
noun
- (in some armies and air forces) an officer of the highest rank
- (in England) an officer, usually a junior barrister, who accompanies a judge on circuit and performs miscellaneous secretarial duties
- (in the US)
- a Federal court officer assigned to a judicial district whose functions are similar to those of a sheriff
- (in some states) the chief police or fire officer
- an officer who organizes or conducts ceremonies, parades, etc
- Also called: knight marshal (formerly in England) an officer of the royal family or court, esp one in charge of protocol
- an obsolete word for ostler
verb -shals, -shalling or -shalled or US -shals, -shaling or -shaled (tr)
- to arrange in orderto marshal the facts
- to assemble and organize (troops, vehicles, etc) prior to onward movement
- to arrange (assets, mortgages, etc) in order of priority
- to guide or lead, esp in a ceremonious way
- to combine (two or more coats of arms) on one shield
v.early 15c., “to tend (horses),” from marshal (n.). Meaning “to arrange, place in order” is from mid-15c.; that of “to arrange for fighting” is from mid-15c. Figurative use by 1690s. Related: Marshaled; marshaling. n.early 13c. as a surname; mid-13c. as “high officer of the royal court;” from Old French mareschal “commanding officer of an army; officer in charge of a household” (Modern French maréchal), originally “stable officer, horse tender, groom” (Frankish Latin mariscaluis) from Frankish *marhskalk or a similar Germanic word, literally “horse-servant” (cf. Old High German marahscalc “groom,” Middle Dutch maerschalc), from Proto-Germanic *markhaz “horse” (see mare (1)) + *skalkaz “servant” (cf. Old English scealc “servant, retainer, member of a crew,” Dutch schalk “rogue, wag,” Gothic skalks “servant”). Cognate with Old English horsþegn. From c.1300 as “stable officer;” early 14c. as “military commander, general in the army.” For development history, cf. constable. Also from Germanic are Italian scalco “steward,” Spanish mariscal “marshal.”