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senate - 6 dictionary results

sen⋅ate

  [sen-it]
Use senate in a Sentence
–noun
1. an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, esp. a legislative assembly of a state or nation.
2. (initial capital letter) the upper house of the legislature of certain countries, as the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Republic of South Africa, Australia, and some Latin American countries.
3. the room or building in which such a group meets.
4. Roman History. the supreme council of state, the membership and functions of which varied at different periods.
5. a governing, advisory, or disciplinary body, as in certain universities.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME senat < L senātus council of elders, equiv. to sen(ex) old + -ātus -ate 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sen·ate   (sěn'ĭt)   
n.  
  1. Abbr. Sen. An assembly or a council of citizens having the highest deliberative and legislative functions in a government, specifically:
    1. Senate The upper house of the U.S. Congress, to which two members are elected from each state by popular vote for a six-year term.
    2. often Senate The upper house in the bicameral legislature of many states in the United States.
    3. Senate The upper legislative house in Canada, France, and some other countries.
    4. The supreme council of state of the ancient Roman Republic and later of the Roman Empire.
  2. The building or hall in which such a council or assembly meets.
  3. A governing, advisory, or disciplinary body of some colleges and universities composed of faculty members and sometimes student representatives.

[Middle English senat, from Old French, from Latin senātus, from senex, sen-, old, an elder; see sen- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Senate

Sen"ate\, n. [OE. senat, F. s['e]nat, fr. L. senatus, fr. senex, gen. senis, old, an old man. See Senior, Sir.]

1. An assembly or council having the highest deliberative and legislative functions. Specifically: (a) (Anc. Rom.) A body of elders appointed or elected from among the nobles of the nation, and having supreme legislative authority.

The senate was thus the medium through which all affairs of the whole government had to pass. --Dr. W. Smith. (b) The upper and less numerous branch of a legislature in various countries, as in France, in the United States, in most of the separate States of the United States, and in some Swiss cantons. (c) In general, a legislative body; a state council; the legislative department of government.

2. The governing body of the Universities of Cambridge and London. [Eng.]

3. In some American colleges, a council of elected students, presided over by the president of the college, to which are referred cases of discipline and matters of general concern affecting the students. [U. S.]

Senate chamber, a room where a senate meets when it transacts business.

Senate house, a house where a senate meets when it transacts business.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : senate
Spanish: senado,
German: der Senat,
Japanese: 上院議会
More Translations »

senate 
c.1205, "legal and administrative body of ancient Rome," from O.Fr. senat or L. senatus "highest council of the state in ancient Rome," lit. "council of elders," from senex (gen. senis) "old man, old" (see senile). Attested from c.1374 in ref. to governing bodies of free cities in Europe; of national governing bodies from 1560; specific sense of upper house of U.S. legislature is recorded from 1775.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: sen·ate
Pronunciation: 'se-n&t
Function: noun
: the upper chamber in a bicameral legislature; especially cap : the upper house of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Senate

(Acts 5:21), the "elders of Israel" who formed a component part of the Sanhedrin.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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