Word of the Day

Saturday, May 04, 2002

plenary

\PLEE-nuh-ree; PLEN-uh-ree\ , adjective;

Full in all respects; complete; absolute; as, plenary authority.

Fully attended by all qualified members.

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Quotes:

Judges like to quote a 1936 Supreme Court opinion that spoke of "the very delicate, plenary and exclusive power of the President as the sole organ of the Federal Government in the field of international relations."

-- "Like Interpreting the Dreams of Pharaoh", New York Times, November 6, 1988

Tito called a plenary session of the Central Committee.

-- Milovan Djilas, Fall of the New Class

Origin:

Plenary comes from Late Latin plenarius, from Latin plenus, "full." It is related to plenty.