Reeve
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
An old word signifying officer
It is differently defined in the books which attempt to say what sort of an officer it imported; apparently because it was applied to many officers of different rank and powers. As a separate word, it is not in frequent use now-ardays; but appears in some compounds, such as sheriff, a corruption of shire-reeve; port-reeve; hog-reeve.