decurion
Americannoun
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the head of a decury.
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a member of the senate of an ancient Roman colony or municipality.
noun
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a local councillor
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the commander of a troop of ten cavalrymen
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was born, son of a Roman decurion, in 387 A. D. in Kilpatrick.
From Time Magazine Archive
"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 Duffield Osborne
The decurion was losing patience and the shepherd had grown more than ever serious.
From The City of Delight A Love Drama of the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem by Frank X. Leyendecker
Draghignazzo, he too, wished to have a catch at the legs below; whereat their decurion wheeled around around with evil aspect.
From Dante: "The Central Man of All the World" A Course of Lectures Delivered Before the Student Body of the New York State College for Teachers, Albany, 1919, 1920 by John T. (John Theodore) Slattery
Again, humbler folk would retreat into wagon-ways or hug the walls to permit the passage of a Sadducee and his retinue, or a decurion and his squad—rank and power asserting their inexorable prerogative.
From Saul of Tarsus A Tale of the Early Christians by Elizabeth Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
