Why is the word "police" similar in many languages

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18 Jan 2012, 9:10 pm

To see for yourself, just go to an online translator website that can translate into many languages. For MOST of the languages that use the Roman Alphabet (since I can actually read the Roman Alphabet) the word "police" translates into a word that is similar.

I don't understand why this is the case. Its not like the word is a proper noun like names of countries. Also, don't most societies have a concept of "people who enforce the law of the land"? Its not just the European languages, even Asian and African languages are like that. I wouldn't expect that all of them derived the word from the European colonists a few decades ago.

Anyone have any ideas why?

abacacus
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18 Jan 2012, 9:12 pm

because all languages came from one or few sources (it is believed). Some other words can be similar as well, although maybe not in such a widespread manner.

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18 Jan 2012, 10:11 pm

Because police forces - in the form we have them now - were first organised in the UK, where they were called "police" using a word originally borrowed from French. So when other countries organised their own similar forces, they borrowed the word along with the idea. The same is true for many other modern words, like "hotel".

Modern police forces have been around for less than 200 years, so the widespread use of the term has nothing to do with all languages having a common source.

PS: when WIkipedia comes back online, look up "police" and read about the development of the modern police force.

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19 Jan 2012, 5:09 pm

jc6chan wrote:

Also, don't most societies have a concept of "people who enforce the law of the land?

The idea of having people who aren't corrupt and partisan enforcers of the autocracy's whims but instead enforce a general law in a uniform way is a pretty recent innovation. :wink:

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19 Jan 2012, 5:13 pm

The nations of the world decided that it would be best to have a universal term for cops and that's why the word Police is similar in so many languages so that people don't get confused when they travel to different countries.

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OneStepBeyond
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19 Jan 2012, 5:13 pm

that's quite handy, i guess

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19 Jan 2012, 5:54 pm

Haing a look at the etymology of the word police with give idea why the word is similar in many languages

Online Etymology Dictionary wrote:

police
c.1530, at first essentially the same word as policy; from M.Fr. police (late 15c.), from L. politia "civil administration," from Gk. polis "city" (see policy (1)). Still used in England for "civil administration" until mid-19c.; application to "administration of public order" (1716) is from French, and originally referred to France or other foreign nations.

policy
"way of management, government, administration," late 14c., from O.Fr. policie (14c.) "civil administration," from L. politia "the state," from Gk. politeia "state, administration, government, citizenship," from polites "citizen," from polis "city, state," from PIE *p(o)lH- "enclosed space, often on high ground" (cf. Skt. pur, puram "city, citadel," Lith. pilis "fortress"). Meaning "plan of action, way of management" first recorded c.1406.

Has you can see the word police is of Greco-Roman origin so thats one way the word can get into a language, the other is via begin an adopted loanword.

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20 Jan 2012, 3:25 am

Because that's how Sting wanted it. ;-)

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20 Jan 2012, 3:28 am

I like saying the word in russian myself; "There's the politsiya doing random breath tests"

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20 Jan 2012, 3:34 am

blue_bean wrote:

I like saying the word in russian myself; "There's the politsiya doing random breath tests"

I hate those breath tests. Recently, a cop told me he "smelled alcohol". No, he didn't. I hadn't had anything at all to drink. Maybe it was him, or maybe it was some yeasty smell hanging around me because I had bread dough rising at the house, but he made me do not one, but two tests. No booze. I told him "Dude you must be stoned or something, I don't smell anything". It was <name withheld to protect the guilty> , I know him. And he really probably was stoned. He's always up at the trailer park getting a sack. Yeah it's that kind of town. Everybody knows who the dealer is, and how he makes his money and who the cops are etc. But it doesn't prevent free trade between the two. Anyway, that's his cousin so he can't arrest him.

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20 Jan 2012, 3:56 am

OliveOilMom wrote:

Because that's how Sting wanted it. ;-)

With every breathalyser they take. :wink:

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jc6chan
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20 Jan 2012, 9:01 am

Well, Chinese didn't follow the crowd. The word in Chinese sounds nothing like "police".

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20 Jan 2012, 1:18 pm

The root word "pol" is Latin for "State", as in pertaining to government or civilization.

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20 Jan 2012, 1:24 pm

Sting references! :heart:

lilbuddah
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22 Jan 2012, 6:50 pm

Most languages have Latin roots, The Romans probably spread their word for "law enforcer" around and, since the idea was pretty uneard of through the dark ages, when organised law enforcement made a comeback most places already had a name for it that had been around for ages, so why not that name?

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22 Jan 2012, 7:42 pm

lilbuddah wrote:

Roman law enforcement was done via the army. Quaestors dealt with criminal investigations. The Cohortes Vigilum were the main fire and law enforcement unit in Rome. The Cohortes Urbanae acted as Rome's riot police plus the Praetoriani helped out with law enforcement duties now and again.

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