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.