quorum

[ kwawr-uhm, kwohr- ]

noun

1. the number of members of a group or organization required to be present to transact business legally, usually a majority.
2. a particularly chosen group.

quorum

/ ˈkwɔːrəm /

noun

1. a minimum number of members in an assembly, society, board of directors, etc, required to be present before any valid business can be transacted

   we don't have a quorum

   the quorum is forty

quorum

1. The minimum number of members of a committee or legislative body who must be present before business can officially or legally be conducted. In the United States Congress , for example, either house must have a majority (218 in the House of Representatives , 51 in the Senate ) to have a quorum.

Word History and Origins

Origin of quorum¹

First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin quōrum “of whom”; from its use in Latin legal formulas for commissioning justices of the peace

Word History and Origins

Origin of quorum¹

C15: from Latin, literally: of whom, occurring in Latin commissions in the formula quorum vos…duos (etc) volumus of whom we wish that you be…two

Example Sentences

There’s a chance that they will not and that the committee doesn’t even have a quorum to hold votes.

From Washington Post

Eventually, a city lawyer told the PAC that Lightfoot and her aides participated in conference calls with a quorum of the City Council on March 26, March 30 and April 6.

From ProPublica

Judges serve a single four-year term on the Appellate Body, which needs a minimum quorum of three in order to conduct reviews.

From Fortune

SANDAG board members protesting the agency’s voting procedure last week nearly succeeded in depriving the agency of a quorum and denying it the right to make decisions.

From Voice of San Diego

So we drew from that shifting quorum threshold that your vote matters, but some votes just matter more.

From Freakonomics

Videos of Quorum: Global LGBT Voices talks and panel discussions will be broadcasted on The Daily Beast in coming months.

From The Daily Beast

Many agencies, such as the NLRB and the FEC, have multimember boards that require a quorum to operate.

From The Daily Beast

When the Democrats saw what was up, a bunch of them took off for Oklahoma, and New Mexico to prevent a quorum vote.

From The Daily Beast

Jacob Bernstein talks to a gay quorum about the morning-show double standard.

From The Daily Beast

Norumbegam illi nobis nescio quam, vrbsque & castella nominant, quorum hodie ne vmbra quidem aut ipsa vox extant.

From Project Gutenberg

At the third meeting, however, there was a full quorum, and the business done at the previous meetings was duly confirmed.

From Project Gutenberg

A quorum is necessary to do business and a majority of the members of each house is considered as a quorum.

From Project Gutenberg

The governor was further to have the initiative of all measures proposed in the council, five of whom were required for a quorum.

From Project Gutenberg

Five of the quorum of the Twelve were in this apostacy; and some in every organized quorum became disaffected.

From Project Gutenberg