marshal

1 of 2

noun

mar·​shal ˈmär-shəl How to pronounce marshal (audio)
variants or less commonly marshall
Synonyms of marshalnext
1
a
: a high official in the household of a medieval king, prince, or noble originally having charge of the cavalry but later usually in command of the military forces
b
: a person who arranges and directs the ceremonial aspects of a gathering
a parade marshal
2
a
: field marshal
b
: a general officer of the highest military rank
3
a
: an officer having charge of prisoners
b(1)
: a ministerial (see ministerial sense 3) officer appointed for a judicial district (as of the U.S.) to execute the process of the courts and perform various duties similar to those of a sheriff
(2)
: a city law officer entrusted with particular duties
c
: the administrative head of a city police department or fire department
marshalcy
ˈmär-shəl-sē How to pronounce marshal (audio)
noun
marshalship
ˈmär-shəl-ˌship How to pronounce marshal (audio)
noun

marshal

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly marshall
marshaled or marshalled; marshaling or marshalling ˈmärsh-(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce marshal (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to place in proper rank or position
marshaling the troops
2
: to bring together and order in an appropriate or effective way
marshal arguments
marshaled her thoughts before answering the question
3
: to lead ceremoniously or solicitously : usher
marshaling her little group of children down the street

intransitive verb

: to take form or order
ideas marshaling neatly

Did you know?

Marshal Has Old German Roots

Although most French words are derived from Latin, a few—among them marshal—are Germanic. In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the Germanic Franks occupied what is now France and left behind a substantial linguistic legacy, including what became medieval French mareschal. Mareschal came from a Frankish compound noun corresponding to Old High German marahscal, composed of marah, meaning "horse" (Old English mearh, with a feminine form mere, whence English mare), and scalc, meaning "servant" (Old English scealc). The original marshal was a servant in charge of horses, but by the time the word was borrowed from French into English in the 14th century, it referred primarily to a high royal official.

Synonyms

Verb

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 
Choose the Right Synonym for marshal

order, arrange, marshal, organize, systematize, methodize mean to put persons or things into their proper places in relation to each other.

order suggests a straightening out so as to eliminate confusion.

ordered her business affairs

arrange implies a setting in sequence, relationship, or adjustment.

arranged the files numerically

marshal suggests gathering and arranging in preparation for a particular operation or effective use.

marshaling the facts for argument

organize implies arranging so that the whole aggregate works as a unit with each element having a proper function.

organized the volunteers into teams

systematize implies arranging according to a predetermined scheme.

systematized billing procedures

methodize suggests imposing an orderly procedure rather than a fixed scheme.

methodizes every aspect of daily living

Examples of marshal in a Sentence

Verb She carefully marshaled her thoughts before answering the question. marshaled their forces for battle
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
And was the flirtation between Elsbeth and fire marshal Jake legitimately hot (no pun intended)? —Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 25 Oct. 2024 Fayetteville firefighters responded to a multi-alarm fire on the second floor of Leverett Gardens Apartments in the 2100 block of North Leverett Avenue just before 8 a.m. Monday, according to fire marshals. —Ron Wood, arkansasonline.com, 21 Oct. 2024
Verb
Still, the posting indicates how schools may soon marshal their resources—and staffs—in anticipation of directly compensating some of their players by next academic year. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Oct. 2024 Some Critics Are Semi-Complimentary Of ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ While many critics are marshaling their forces to take down Venom in his last film appearance, there are some reviewers who are trying to find some positives in the film. —Tim Lammers, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for marshal 

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French mareschal, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German marahscalc marshal, from marah horse + scalc servant

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of marshal was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing marshal

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Dictionary Entries Near marshal

Marsh

marshal

Marshal's court

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Marshal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marshal. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

marshal

1 of 2 noun
mar·​shal ˈmär-shəl How to pronounce marshal (audio)
1
a
: a high official in a royal household in the Middle Ages
b
: a person who arranges and directs ceremonies or parades
2
: an officer of the highest rank in some military forces
3
a
: a federal official having duties similar to those of a sheriff
b
: the head of a division of a city government
fire marshal

marshal

2 of 2 verb
marshaled or marshalled; marshaling or marshalling
ˈmärsh-(ə-)liŋ
1
: to arrange in order
marshal troops
2
: to lead with ceremony : usher
marshaling the group of children down the street
Etymology

Noun

Middle English marshal "a high officer in the king's household," from early French mareschal (same meaning), literally "horse servant"; of Germanic origin

Word Origin
Although most French words come from Latin, some are the result of the Germanic occupation of France in the third century a.d. In early French the word mareschal, literally meaning "horse servant," was such a word. By the Middle English period, a mareschal in French was a high royal official. English borrowed the word to name a similar position in England. Much later, marshal was used in England as the title of a high-ranking military officer. It is because of this use that many people think the word is related to the word martial, meaning "relating to military affairs." But martial derives from the Latin name Mars, the god of war. It is only an accident that these two words came to be linked many centuries after they had entered English from different languages.

Legal Definition

marshal

1 of 2 noun
mar·​shal
ˈmär-shəl
1
: a ministerial officer appointed for each judicial district of the U.S. to execute the process of the courts and perform various duties similar to those of a sheriff
2
: a law officer in some cities (as New York) of the U.S. who is entrusted with particular duties (as serving the process of justice of the peace courts)
3
: the administrative head of the police or especially fire department in some cities of the U.S.

marshal

2 of 2 transitive verb
variants also marshall
marshaled also marshalled; marshaling also marshalling
: to fix the order of (assets) with respect to liability or availability for payment of obligations
also : to fix the order of (as liens or remedies) with respect to priority against a debtor's assets see also marshaling

More from Merriam-Webster on marshal

Nglish: Translation of marshal for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of marshal for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about marshal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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