duumvir

American  

[doo-uhm-ver, dyoo-] / duˈʌm vər, dyu- /

noun

Roman History.

plural

duumvirs, duumviri

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

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duumvir British  

/ djuːˈʌmvə /

noun

1. Roman history one of two coequal magistrates or officers

2. either of two men who exercise a joint authority

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Etymology

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 ( werewolf )

Example Sentences

One of the Pompeian inscriptions announces that the duumvir C. Cuspius Pansa had been appointed to superintend the public shows and see to the observance of the Petronian law.

From The Wonders of Pompeii by Monnier, Marc

Ben-Hur listened a moment, then completed the introduction by laying his hand upon the man's arm, and saying, "I am the son of Arrius, the duumvir, and thou?"

From Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ by Wallace, Lewis

"When the two were lifted to the deck, the duumvir was in his tribune's armor, and the other in the vesture of a rower."

From Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ by Wallace, Lewis

Certain red letters on the walls were announcements of elections to be held in the beginning of that era,—candidates for aedile or duumvir who were recommended to the Pompeiian voters.

From Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) A Novel by Jordan, Charlotte Brewster

That of the duumvir Labeo, which is very ugly, inPg 109 opus incertum, covered with stucco and adorned with bas-reliefs and portraits of doubtful taste, was built at the expense of his freedman, Menomachus.

From The Wonders of Pompeii by Monnier, Marc