1. A body of French gendarmes.
2. Slang. A group of police officers.

[French, from Old French, calvary, from gent d'armes, gendarme, mounted soldier. See gendarme.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.