Bailiwick refers to a person's area of expertise or interest.
Bailiwick refers to a person's area of expertise or interest.
| Front | bailiwick \BAY-luh-wik\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun A person's area of expertise or interest. [From Middle English bailliwik, from bailie (bailiff), from bail (custody), from Latin baiulare (to serve as porter) + Middle English wick (dairy farm or village), from Old English wic (house or village), from Latin vicus (neighborhood). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weik- (clan), which is also the forebear of vicinity, village, villa, and villain (originally, a villain was a farm servant, one who lived in a villa or a country house), ecumenical, and ecesis. Earliest documented use: 1460.] "Ms. Sarah Palin took the extraordinary step Tuesday of filing an ethics complaint against herself, making the matter fall within the bailiwick of the personnel board. Her lawyer Mr. Van Flein then asked the Legislature to drop its inquiry." |
Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.
Next card: Lacuna luh-kyoo-nuh plural lacunae luh-kyoo-nee noun empty space
Previous card: Eidos eye-dos ay plural eide eye-dee ay-day noun
Up to card list: Hard English Vocabulary