decemvir

American  

[dih-sem-ver] / dɪˈsɛm vər /

noun

plural

decemvirs, decemviri

1. a member of a permanent board or a special commission of ten members in ancient Rome, especially the commission that drew up Rome's first code of law.

2. a member of any council or ruling body of ten.

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decemvir British  

/ dɪˈsɛmvə /

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) a member of a board of ten magistrates, esp either of the two commissions established in 451 and 450 _bc to revise the laws

2. a member of any governing body composed of ten men

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Other Word Forms

• decemviral adjective

Etymology

Origin of decemvir

1570–80; < Latin, originally plural decemvirī, equivalent to decem ten + virī men

Example Sentences

To the Aventine, and thence to the Mons Sacer, through the tyranny of Appius Claudius, the decemvir; Liv. iii.

From Conspiracy of Catiline and the Jurgurthine War by Watson, John Selby

For this man, formerly distinguished at home and abroad, had been so altered by his office of decemvir and the influence of his colleagues that he chose rather to be like Appius than like himself.

From Roman History, Books I-III by Livius, Titus

To them the assembly pays attention, they drown with clamour the voice of the decemvir.

From The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livius, Titus

Claudius, the instrument of Appius the decemvir for entrapping Virginia.

From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham

In the sketch of his life prefixed to his works, Niebuhr collates the friendships he himself mentions, with his fellow-poet Paulus Silentiarius, with Theodorus the decemvir, and Macedonius the ex-consul.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 1 by Runkle, Lucia Isabella Gilbert