Mar"shal , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Marshaled (?) or Marshalled; p. pr. &
vb. n. Marshaling or
Marshalling.]
1. To dispose in
order; to arrange in a
suitable manner; as, to marshal troops or an army.
And marshaling the heroes of his name
As, in their order, next to light they
came.
Dryden.
2. To direct, guide, or lead.
Thou marshalest me the way that
I was going.
Shak.
3. (Her.) To dispose in
due order, as the different quarterings on an escutcheon, or the different crests when several belong to an achievement.
Mar"shal (?), n. [OE.
mareschal, OF. mareschal, F. maréchal, LL. mariscalcus, from OHG. marah-scalc (G.
marschall); marah horse + scalc
servant (akin to AS. scealc, Goth. skalks). F. maréchal signifies, a marshal, and a farrier. See Mare horse, and cf. Seneschal.]
1.
Originally, an officer who had the care
of horses; a groom. [Obs.]
2. An officer of
high rank, charged with the arrangement of ceremonies, the conduct of operations, or the like; as, specifically: (a) One who goes before a prince to declare his coming and provide entertainment;
a harbinger; a pursuivant. (b) One who regulates rank and order at
a feast or any other assembly, directs the order of procession, and the like. (c) The chief officer of arms, whose duty it
was, in ancient times, to regulate combats in the lists. Johnson. (d) (France) The
highest military officer. In other countries of Europe a marshal is
a military officer of high rank, and called field marshal. (e)
(Am. Law) A ministerial officer, appointed for each judicial district of the United States, to execute the process of the courts of
the United States, and perform various duties, similar to those of a sheriff. The name is also sometimes applied to certain police officers of a city.
Earl marshal of England, the eighth officer of state; an honorary title, and personal, until made hereditary in the family of
the Duke of
Norfolk. During a vacancy in
the office of high constable, the earl marshal has jurisdiction in the court
of chivalry. Brande &
C. -- Earl marshal of Scotland, an officer who had command of the cavalry under the constable. This office was held by the family of Keith, but forfeited by rebellion in 1715. --
Knight marshal, or Marshal of the King's house, formerly, in England, the marshal of the king's house, who was authorized to hear and determine all pleas of the Crown,
to punish faults committed within the verge, etc. His court was called the Court of
Marshalsea. -- Marshal of the Queen's Bench, formerly the title of
the officer who had the custody of the Queen's bench prison in Southwark. Mozley & W.
Hear it pronounced