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triumviri

 - 3 dictionary results

tri⋅um⋅vir

  [trahy-uhm-ver]
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–noun, plural -virs, -vi⋅ri  [-vuh-rahy] .
1. Roman History. one of three officers or magistrates mutually exercising the same public function.
2. one of three persons associated in any office or position of authority.
Origin:
1570–80; < L: lit., one man of three, back formation from trium virōrum of three men

Related forms:
tri⋅um⋅vi⋅ral, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tri·um·vir   (trī-ŭm'vər)   
n.   pl. tri·um·virs or tri·um·vi·ri (-və-rī')

  1. One of three men sharing public administration or civil authority in ancient Rome.

  2. One of three people sharing public administration or civil authority.


[Middle English, from Latin, back-formation from triumvirī, board of three, from trium virum, of three men : trium, genitive pl. of trēs, three; see trei- in Indo-European roots + virum, archaic genitive pl. of vir, man; see wī-ro- in Indo-European roots.]
tri·um'vi·ral adj.
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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Word Origin & History

triumvir 
"one of three men in the same office or of the same authority," 1579, from L. triumvir, from Old L. phrase trium virum, genitive plural of tres viri "three men," from tres "three" + viri, plural of vir "man" (see virile). Triumvirate is from 1584.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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