Re: Bailiwick
Posted by ESC on February 22, 2000 In Reply to: Can anyone tell me the meaning
of 'Not in my Baileywick'? posted by Ron on February 22, 2000
: The spelling might be incorrect, but I've tried to spell it
as it's read. People seem to use it as a way of indicating something
is not on their patch, or not within their responsibility. I'm not
sure if it does have a connection to something or where it originated
from. Can anyone help please.
"BAILIWICK - In general use, 'bailiwick' has come to mean your
own province, particularly one in which experience or knowledge
gives you special authority or freedom to act. However, it has had
a very definite legal sense for centuries: the area of jurisdiction
of a bailiff (sheriff's assistant). It goes back to Middle English
'bailie,' meaning 'bailiff,' and 'wick,' meaning 'village.' If you
trace the origin of bailiff back to Latin, the poor chap suffers
a loss in dignity since 'bailiff' is derived from 'bajalus,' the
Latin word for 'porter.'" From the "Morris Dictionary of Word and
Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollinsPublishers,
New York, 1977).
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