# bailiff

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbeɪlɪf/ · frequency rank #28,829

## Definitions
1. An officer of the court
2. An officer of the court
3. An officer of the court
4. An officer of the court
5. An officer of the court
6. A public administrator
7. A public administrator
8. A public administrator
9. A public administrator
10. A public administrator
11. A public administrator
12. A public administrator
13. A public administrator
14. A public administrator
15. A public administrator
16. A private administrator, particularly
17. A private administrator, particularly
18. A private administrator, particularly
19. Any debt collector, regardless of his or her official status.

## Etymology
From Middle English baillif, baylyf, from Anglo-Norman and Old French bailif (plural bailis), probably from Vulgar Latin *bāiulivus (“castellan”), from Latin bāiulus (“porter; steward”), whence also bail. As a translation of foreign titles, semantic loan from French bailli, Scots bailie, Dutch baljuw, etc. Mostly replaced the role of native reeve. Doublet of bailo.

## Easily confused with
- **bailing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bailiff-vs-bailing)
- **bailiffs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bailiff-vs-bailiffs)

## Common misspellings (8)
`abiliff`, `baiilff`, `bailfif`, `bailif`, `bailliff`, `baliiff`, `bbailiff`, `bialiff`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bailiff