Bailiwick

A bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a Crown grant. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of activity, experience, study, or interest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The term originated in France (bailie being the Old French term for a bailiff) and was used on both sides of the English Channel, although bailiwicks (bailliages in French) tended to be rather more widespread in northern France than the south. In English, the original French bailie was combined with "-wic", the Anglo-Saxon suffix meaning a village, to produce a term meaning literally "bailiff's village" - the original geographic scope of a bailiwick. In the 19th century, it was absorbed into American English as a metaphor for one's sphere of knowledge or activity.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The term survives in administrative usage in the Channel Islands, which for administrative purposes are grouped into the two bailiwicks of Jersey (comprising the island of Jersey and the islets known as the Minquiers and Ecr?hous) and Guernsey (comprising the islands of Guernsey, Sark, Alderney, Brecqhou, Herm, Jethou and Lihou). Each Channel Island bailiwick is headed by a Bailiff.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bailiff: Bailiff (from Late Latin bajulivus, adjectival form of bajulus) is a governor or custodian; cf. Bail), a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly....

Sheriff: Sheriff is both a political and a legal office held under English common law, Scots law or U.S. common law, or the person who holds such office....

Metaphor: In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two seemingly unrelated subjects. Typically, a first object is described as being or having the properties of a second object. In this way, the first object can be economically described because implicit and explici...