Plural of policeman; male officers employed to enforce the law and maintain public order.
From 'police' (from Greek 'polis,' city) + 'man.' The word 'police' as a force is relatively recent, from the 1700s, though city governance is ancient.
The modern police force as we know it started in 1829 with London's Metropolitan Police—before then, law enforcement was done by communities and soldiers. The term 'policeman' as a job title is less than 200 years old.
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