[ad. med.L. constabulārius, f. constabulus: see prec.]
1. Of or pertaining to petty constables or to police officers; belonging to the official organization for the preservation of public peace and order, especially that established in the counties of England, Ireland, and Scotland in the course of the 19th c.
1824. Ann. Reg., 26. The constabulary bill has been found to be a very beneficial measure. Ibid. (1825), 44*. The establishment of the police and constabulary force.
1837. Instruct. R. Comm., in Penny Cycl., XVIII. 336/1. To inquire into the best means of establishing an efficient constabulary force in the counties of England and Wales.
1857. Toulmin Smith, Parish, 132. It has been stated that the County Constabulary Acts do not supersede, though they cannot but materially affect, the system of parish constables.
1889. Spectator, 26 Oct. A delegated constabulary duty he had from the Sheriff of the county.
2. Of the nature or function of constables.
1856. Kane, Arct. Expl., I. xxviii. 367. Nor did their constabulary guardians.
a. 1864. Hawthorne, Eng. Note-bks. (1879), II. 163. A system of constabulary ethics.
