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

• 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

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

Beati sunt mortui: here rest, we know, the priestess Mammia, the decemvir Aricius, Libella the aedile, and a host of other citizens with whose names the student or the lover of Pompeii is familiar.

From The Naples Riviera by Vaughan, Herbert M. (Herbert Millingchamp)

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

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