decemvir

American  

[dih-sem-ver] / dɪˈsɛm vər /

noun

decemvirs, plural decemviri plural

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

Derived Forms

• decemviral
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• decemviri
  plural
• decemvirs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of decemvir

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

Example Sentences

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

Virginius had returned to the camp, where the soldiers, having heard of the fall of the decemvir, proceeded to hit him, as usual, when down, renouncing the authority of Appius and his colleagues.

From The Comic History of Rome by Becket, Gilbert Abbott ?

The great man at Rome during the period of the Samnite wars was Appius Claudius—great grandson of the decemvir, and the proudest aristocrat that had yet appeared.

From Ancient States and Empires by Lord, John

But the name of the decemvir still carries terror with it, and the commons waver at the sound.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847 by Various