decurion

American  

[dih-kyoor-ee-uhn] / dɪˈkyʊər i ən /

noun

Roman History.

1. the head of a decury.

2. a member of the senate of an ancient Roman colony or municipality.

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decurion British  

/ dɪˈkjʊərɪən /

noun

1. a local councillor

2. the commander of a troop of ten cavalrymen

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Etymology

Origin of decurion

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin decuriōn- (stem of decuriō ), equivalent to decuri ( a ) a division of ten ( dec ( em ) ten + -uria -ure ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

He was born, son of a Roman decurion, in 387 A. D. in Kilpatrick.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nor have they any reverence for the villa of the civic decurion or the Roman official.

From Callista : a Tale of the Third Century by Newman, John Henry

The decurion in charge of the squad brought up his gray horse with such suddenness that the animal's feet slid in the gravel.

From The City of Delight A Love Drama of the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem by Leyendecker, Frank X.

The adoption of the same faith made the poor freedman the equal and sometimes the superior, of the decurion and the clarissimus.

From The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism by Cumont, Franz

"Numidians!" exclaimed the decurion, following his finger with his speech, while the veins in Hostilius' forehead began to swell and grow dark.

From The Lion's Brood by Osborne, Duffield