Bailiwick

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Dr. Goodword
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Bailiwick

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:26 am

• bailiwick •

Pronunciation: bay-lê-wik • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. The jurisdiction of a bailiff (or bailie), a sheriff or magistrate in England, and perhaps a few other countries. 2. An area of familiarity or expertise, as London or car repair might be someone's bailiwick of expertise.

Notes: Today's word is not related to the Old Bailey in London, the seat of the Central Criminal Court, made famous by the Rumpole of the Bailey BBC TV series. That building got its name from the ancient bailey or ballium, a section of the city wall within which it is situated. Remember that this word has three I's and ends on CK.

In Play: Your bailiwick is an area with which you are familiar: "Toledo isn't my bailiwick: who do I see about fixing a parking ticket?" Your bailiwick may also be an area of expertise: "The kitchen is just not my bailiwick; I'm much more at home in the dining room."

Word History: Today's word is from Middle English bailie + wik(e) "village, district." Bailie is a shortened form of bailiff, derived from Latin bajulus "carrier, porter." Wick is the current form of Old English wic "hamlet, (city) district". It is akin to Latin vicus "town, district", found in the English borrowings from French, vicinity and vicar. Vicar and vicarious come from the same original PIE word, which also became vicis "change, turn, (re)place" in Latin. A vicar is impermanent, someone who replaces his predecessor and is replaced by his successor. Wick and its variant wich are found today only in proper nouns like Sedgewick, Hardwick, Greenwich, and Sandwich—as well as today's Good Word.
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LukeJavan8
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Re: Bailiwick

Postby LukeJavan8 » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:05 pm

Remember Bull? The bailiff on "Night Court"?

The British Channel Islands are bailiwicks: Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderny,Sark.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

Perry Lassiter
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Re: Bailiwick

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:19 pm

Google def of vicar: (in the Roman Catholic Church) a representative or deputy of a bishop.
(in the Episcopal Church) a member of the clergy in charge of a chapel.
(in the Church of England) an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman.

And Wikipedia begins its article: A vicar (/ˈvɪkər/; Latin: vicarius) is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant. Linguistically, vicar is cognate with the English prefix "vice", similarly meaning "deputy".

The title appears in a number of Christian ecclesiastical contexts, but also as an administrative title, or title modifier, in the Roman Empire. In addition, in the Holy Roman Empire a local representative of the emperor, perhaps an archduke, might be styled "vicar".

I looked it up because the principle use I have seen of the word is as a lesser clergyman placed as pastor of a church.
pl


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