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Caucus - 8 dictionary results

cau⋅cus

  [kaw-kuhs] noun, plural -cus⋅es, verb
Use Caucus in a Sentence
–noun
1. U.S. Politics.
a. a meeting of party leaders to select candidates, elect convention delegates, etc.
b. a meeting of party members within a legislative body to select leaders and determine strategy.
c. (often initial capital letter) a faction within a legislative body that pursues its interests through the legislative process: the Women's Caucus; the Black Caucus.
2. any group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause.
–verb (used without object)
3. to hold or meet in a caucus.
–verb (used with object)
4. to bring up or hold for discussion in a caucus: The subject was caucused. The group caucused the meeting.
Origin:
1755–65, Americanism; appar. first used in the name of the Caucus Club of colonial Boston; perh. < ML caucus drinking vessel, LL caucum < Gk kaûkos; alleged Virginia Algonquian orig. less probable
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cau·cus   (kô'kəs)   
n.   pl. cau·cus·es or cau·cus·ses
    1. A meeting of the local members of a political party especially to select delegates to a convention or register preferences for candidates running for office.
    2. A closed meeting of party members within a legislative body to decide on questions of policy or leadership.
    3. A group within a legislative or decision-making body seeking to represent a specific interest or influence a particular area of policy: a minority caucus.
  2. Chiefly British A committee within a political party charged with determining policy.
v.   cau·cused or cau·cussed, cau·cus·ing or cau·cus·sing, cau·cus·es or cau·cus·ses

v.   intr.
To assemble in or hold a caucus.
v.   tr.
To assemble or canvass (members of a caucus).

[After the Caucus Club of Boston (in the 1760s), possibly from Medieval Latin caucus, drinking vessel.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Caucus

Cau"cus\, n. [Etymology uncertain. Mr. J. H. Trumbull finds the origin of caucus in the N. A. Indian word cawcawwassough or ca['u] cau-as'u one who urges or pushes on, a promoter. See citation for an early use of the word caucus.] A meeting, especially a preliminary meeting, of persons belonging to a party, to nominate candidates for public office, or to select delegates to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding measures of party policy; a political primary meeting.

This day learned that the caucus club meets, at certain times, in the garret of Tom Dawes, the adjutant of the Boston regiment. --John Adams's Diary [Feb., 1763].

Caucus

Cau"cus\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Caucused; p. pr. & vb. n. Caucusing.] To hold, or meet in, a caucus or caucuses.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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caucus [(kaw-kuhs)]

A meeting of members of a political party to nominate candidates, choose convention delegates, plan campaign tactics, determine party policy, or select leaders for a legislature.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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caucus 
1763, Amer.Eng., perhaps from caucauasu "counselor" in the Algonquian dialect of Virginia, or the Caucus Club of Boston, a 1760s social & political club whose name possibly derived from Mod.Gr. kaukos "drinking cup." Another candidate is caulker's (meeting). The verb is from 1850.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: cau·cus
Pronunciation: 'ko-k&s
Function: noun
: a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy —caucus intransitive verb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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caucus

any political group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause

Learn more about caucus with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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