shrievalty

noun

1. The office, jurisdiction, or tenure of a sheriff (chiefly in reference to the British office; uncommon in reference to the American office).

   “After discourse of this, and of supplying the garrison with some more horse, we rose; and Sir J. Minnes and I home again, finding the street about our house full, Sir R. Ford beginning his shrievalty to-day and, what with his and our houses being new painted, the street begins to look a great deal better than it did, and more gracefull.”

   “--Can any of your readers inform me the origin of the delivery of water-buckets, glazed and painted with the city arms, given to the sheriffs of London and Middlesex at the expiration of the year of their shrievalty?”

   “He ought to do something to make his shrievalty memorable .”

   “John Timbs, in his Walks and Talks about London, tells us that Phillips's colleague in the shrievalty was one Smith, who afterwards became Lord Mayor: The personnel of the two sheriffs presented a sharp contrast.”

   “The district court granted the shrievalty to contestor Shaw! Shaw pointed out that he had lost the income from the shrievalty for eighteen months and deserved recompense. However, Paul was unwilling to concede this claim. Shaw served out the last months of Paul's term, […]”