patrol

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English [edit]

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Pronunciation [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

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 [edit]

patrol (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 guard or men who go the rounds for observation; a detachment whose duty it is to patrol.
  4. Any perambulation of a particular line or district to guard it; also, the men thus guarding; as, a customs patrol; a fire patrol.
    • (Can we date this quote?) A. Hamilton:
      In France there is an army of patrols to secure her fiscal regulations.
  5. (Scouting) A unit of a troop, typically composed of around eight boys.
Translations [edit]
going of the rounds
movement by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts
guard or men who go the rounds for observation
perambulation of a particular line or district
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2 [edit]

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

Verb [edit]

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; as, to patrol a frontier; to patrol a beat.
Translations [edit]
go the rounds along a chain of sentinels
go the rounds of, as a sentry, guard or policeman
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

External links [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

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