aedile

Or e·dile

[ee-dahyl]

noun

Roman History.

1. one of a board of magistrates in charge of public buildings, streets, markets, games, etc.

aedile

/ ˈiːdaɪl /

noun

1. a magistrate of ancient Rome in charge of public works, games, buildings, and roads

Other Word Forms

• aedileship noun
• aedilitian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of aedile¹

1570–80; < Latin aedīlis, equivalent to aedi- (stem of aedēs; aedicule ) + -īlis -ile

Word History and Origins

Origin of aedile¹

C16: from Latin aedīlis concerned with buildings, from aedēs a building

Example Sentences

Vespasian fixed streets as aedile but failed to keep them clean, which so infuriated Caligula that he ordered soldiers “to load him with mud,” Suetonius writes, “stuffing into the fold of his senatorial gown as much as it could hold.”

Read more on Slate

Under imperial law, this was the responsibility of an elected magistrate known as an aedile—the most powerful of whom was Agrippa, who later built the Pantheon.

Read more on Slate

Aulus Vettius Firmus writes up his election address and appeals to the pilicrepi or ball-players for their votes for him as aedile.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

In 199 he was quaestor, and the next year, passing over the regular stages of aedile and praetor, he obtained the consulship.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

Fourteen years later, when curule aedile, he distributed large quantities of grain among the citizens at a very low price.

Read more on Project Gutenberg