patrol

English Online Dictionary. What means patrol‎? What does patrol mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pəˈtɹəʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pəˈtɹoʊl/
• Rhymes: -əʊl

Alternative forms

• patrole (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (“to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear”), from patte, pate (“paw, foot of an animal”), from Vulgar Latin *patta (“paw, foot”), from Frankish *patta (“paw, sole of the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *paþjaną, *paþōną (“to walk, tread, go, step, pace”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pent-, *(s)pat- (“path; to walk”), a variant of Proto-Indo-European *pent-, *pat- (“path; to go”); see find. Cognate with Dutch pad, patte (“paw”), Low German pedden (“to step, tread”), German patschen (“to splash, smack, dabble, waddle”), German Patsche (“a swatter, beater, paw, puddle, mire”). Related to pad, path.

Noun

patrol (countable and uncountable, plural patrols)

1. (military) A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts.
2. (military) A movement, by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts, to explore the country and gain intelligence of the enemy's whereabouts.
3. (military) The guards who go the rounds for observation; a detachment whose duty it is to patrol.
4. (law enforcement) The largest division of officers within a police department or sheriff's office, whose assignment is to patrol and respond to calls for service.
5. Any perambulation of a particular line or district to guard it; also, the people thus guarding.
   • 1787-1788, Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers

     In France there is an army of patrols […] to secure her fiscal regulations.
6. (scouting) A unit of a troop, usually defined by certain ranks or age groups within the troop, and ideally comprised of six to eight members.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From French patrouiller, from Old French patrouiller (“to paddle, paw about, patrol”), from patte (“a paw”).

Verb

patrol (third-person singular simple present patrols, present participle patrolling, simple past and past participle patrolled)

1. (intransitive) To go the rounds along a chain of sentinels; to traverse a police district or beat.
2. (transitive) To go the rounds of, as a sentry, guard, or policeman
   • April 8 1997, Bill Clinton, Proclamation 6983

     Whether attempting to keep the peace in Bosnia, evacuating American citizens from Albania, or patrolling the world's seas and skies, our service men and women risk capture by unfriendly foreign forces.

Derived terms

• patrollable
• patroller

Translations

Further reading

• “patrol”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “patrol”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “patrol”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Portal, portal, pratol

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French patrouille, from Middle French patrouille, from Old French patrouille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpa.trɔl/
• Rhymes: -atrɔl
• Syllabification: pa‧trol

Noun

patrol m inan

1. (military) patrol (going of the rounds)
2. (military) patrol (movement by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts)
3. (military) patrol (guards who go the rounds for observation)

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• patrol in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• patrol in Polish dictionaries at PWN