Patrolmen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals responsible for monitoring a designated area to maintain security and enforce laws
2. Officers who regularly traverse a specific location to deter and respond to criminal activity
3. Personnel tasked with the oversight of a community or region to ensure public safety and order

Etymology: "Patrolmen" is the plural of "patrolman," a compound of "patrol" and "man." The second half goes back a long way: "man" descends from Old English "mann," which meant a human being in general, and the same root sits behind many older words of the language. The suffix "-man" was used in English to form nouns for people who carry out a particular job, so a patrolman is literally a man who patrols. The first half, "patrol," came into English from French, where "patrouiller" meant to paddle or splash about in mud, a sense tied to the Old French verb for moving through or over dirt. Military and police meanings developed from that root of movement, with a patrol being a group sent out to walk a round and keep watch. The plural "patrolmen" simply follows the irregular pattern of "man," changing the vowel rather than adding an "s."

Synonyms: officers, guards