Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

posse comitatus

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.00 in modern English

Syllables: pos-se -comi-ta-tus
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

5

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The able-bodied men over 15 in a given county who can be summoned by the sheriff to help keep the peace, or arrest a felon; also a group of men so gathered.

noun

Any band of men, especially armed or hostile.

Example Sentences

"They are the standing army, and the militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, etc."
"With him retired his ‘posse comitatus,’ / The attorney last, who linger'd near the door / Reluctantly […]"

Etymology

From Late Latin posse comitātūs (“force of the county”, literally “power of the county”).

Word Breakdown

Root: posse comitātūs

Derived Forms

posse

Synonyms

posse

Questions

What does posse comitatus mean?: The able-bodied men over 15 in a given county who can be summoned by the sheriff to help keep the peace, or arrest a felon; also a group of men so gathered.
Where does posse comitatus come from?: From Late Latin posse comitātūs (“force of the county”, literally “power of the county”).

How to pronounce posse comitatus

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