marshal

marshal

/ˈmɑːʃl/

1 (usually in compounds) an officer of the highest rank in the armed forces of some countries

Field Marshal Lord Haig

Marshal of the Royal Air Force

2 ​a person responsible for making sure that public events, especially sports events, take place without any problems, and for controlling crowds

3 ​(in the US) an officer whose job is to put court orders into effect

a federal marshal

Collocations

adjective

grandfederalair…

4 ​(in some US cities) an officer of high rank in a police or fire department

marshal

/ˈmɑːʃl/

(formal)

1 ​marshal something to gather together and organize the people, things, ideas, etc. that you need for a particular purpose

They have begun marshalling forces to send relief to the hurricane victims.

to marshal your arguments/thoughts/facts

2 ​marshal somebody to control or organize a large group of people, especially soldiers

The general marshalled his troops.

Police were brought in to marshal the crowd.

Word Origin

Middle English (denoting a high-ranking officer of state): from Old French mareschal ‘farrier, commander’, from late Latin mariscalcus, from Germanic elements meaning ‘horse’ (compare with mare) and ‘servant’.

e.g.