Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
positive yield curve
positively
positivism
positron
positron emission tomography
positronium
posole
posology
posse
posse cut
possess
possessed
possession
possession order
possessions corporation
possessive
possessory
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "posse" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

posse

pos·se [ póssee ] (plural pos·ses)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. sheriff's helpers: especially in the western United States in the 19th-century, a group of citizens assembled by a sheriff to assist in maintaining law and order

2. assembled group: a group of people assembled for a common purpose ( informal )

3. U.S. searchers: a search party

[Mid-17th century. Shortening of posse comitatus< medieval Latin, "force of the county"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft