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

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

They were attentively listened to by the assembly: the voice of the decemvir was drowned with clamour.

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

Caius Valerius Laetorius was created decemvir for the performance of sacred rites, in the room of Quintus Mucius Scaevola, deceased.

From The History of Rome, Books 27 to 36 by Livius, Titus

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

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