posse

[ pos-ee ]
See synonyms for: posseposses on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a body or force armed with legal authority.

  1. Slang. a group of friends or associates: hanging out with your posse; a posse of drug dealers.

Origin of posse

1
First recorded in 1575–85; from Medieval Latin posse “power, force,” noun use of Latin infinitive: “to be able, have power,” contraction of potis “able” + esse “to be”; see potent1

Words Nearby posse

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How to use posse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for posse

posse

/ (ˈpɒsɪ) /


noun
  1. Also called: posse comitatus US the able-bodied men of a district assembled together and forming a group upon whom the sheriff may call for assistance in maintaining law and order

  2. law possibility (esp in the phrase in posse)

  1. slang a Jamaican street gang in the US

  2. informal a group of friends or associates

Origin of posse

1
C16: from Medieval Latin (n): power, strength, from Latin (vb): to be able, have power

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