duumvir

[doo-uhm-ver, dyoo-]

noun, plural du·um·virs, du·um·vi·ri

[doo-uhm-vuh-rahy] /duˈʌm vəˌraɪ/. Roman History.

one of two officers or magistrates jointly exercising the same public function.

Origin of duumvir

1590–1600; < Latin, back formation from duumvirōrum, genitive plural of duovirī two men, equivalent to duo- duo- + virī, plural of vir man, cognate with Old English wer (see werewolf)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for duumvir

Historical Examples of duumvir

The elder, Rufus, was duumvir for the fourth term in 3-2 B.C.
Pompeii, Its Life and Art
August Mau
Caius Servilius, duumvir, also dedicated a temple of Jupiter, in the island.
History of Rome, Vol III
Titus Livius
Probably a consular personage, a duumvir, since lictors lead the line.
The Wonders of Pompeii
Marc Monnier
He was, with Csar, the year after, one of the judges (duumvir perduellionis) in the trial of C. Rabirius.
History of Julius Caesar Vol. 2 of 2
Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.

British Dictionary definitions for duumvir

duumvir

noun plural -virs or -viri (-vɪˌriː)

Roman history one of two coequal magistrates or officers
either of two men who exercise a joint authority

Word Origin for duumvir

C16: from Latin, from duo two + vir man

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012