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Webster 1913 Edition


Posse comitatus


Pos′se comˊi-ta′tus

.
[L.
posse
to be able, to have power + LL.
comitatus
a county, from
comes
,
comitis
, a count. See
County
, and
Power
.]
1.
(Law)
The power of the county, or the citizens who may be summoned by the sheriff to assist the authorities in suppressing a riot, or executing any legal precept which is forcibly opposed.
Blackstone.
2.
A collection of people; a throng; a rabble.
[Colloq.]
☞ The word comitatus is often omitted, and posse alone used. “A whole posse of enthusiasts.”
Carlyle.
As if the passion that rules were the sheriff of the place, and came off with all the
posse
.
Locke.