gendarme

noun

gen·​darme ˈzhän-ˌdärm 

 also  ˈjän-

1

: a member of a body of soldiers especially in France serving as an armed police force for the maintenance of public order

2

: police officer

Synonyms

• bobby [British]
• bull [slang]
• constable [chiefly British]
• cop
• copper
• flatfoot [slang]
• fuzz
• lawman
• officer
• police officer
• policeman
• shamus [slang]

Examples of gendarme in a Sentence

the senator reiterated his conviction that it is not the role of the United States to be a kind of global gendarme

Recent Examples on the Web

The mud-slinging scene occurred as thousands more Spanish soldiers, national police officers, and Civil Guard gendarmes arrived, or are set to arrive, at the disaster sites. —Joseph Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2024

The seven people killed in shootings included at least three from the Indigenous Kanak community and two gendarmes. —Sylvie Corbet, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2024

In 1897, years before fingerprinting became widespread, French gendarmes used it to identify the serial killer Joseph Vacher. —Shaun Raviv, WIRED, 21 Jan. 2020

Seeing the knife, the gendarmes arrest him; Modi is home free. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, back-formation from gensdarmes, plural of gent d'armes, literally, armed people

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

gendarme

noun

gen·​darme ˈzhän-ˌdärm 

 also  ˈjän-

: a member of a police force especially in France

Etymology

from French gendarme "policeman," derived as a singular form from earlier gensdarmes, gent d'armes, literally, "armed people"