centumvirate

English

Etymology

From Latin centumvirātus, from centumvirī (“centumvirs, centumviri”) +‎ ātus (abstract noun-forming suffix). Equivalent to centumvir +‎ -ate (forms nouns denoting a rank or office, here the group of people performing it).

Noun

centumvirate (plural centumvirates)

1. A group of one hundred people, especially (politics) a council of about 100 men who share power or rule, particularly (historical) such a group in ancient Rome.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:government

Coordinate terms

• See Thesaurus:government

References

• "centumvirate, n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• “centumvirate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.