publicain
French edit
Etymology edit
Learned borrowing from Latin pūblicānus.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
publicain m (plural publicains)
- (Ancient Rome) publican (public contractors, who often supplied the Roman legions and military; managed the collection of port duties; oversaw public building projects; served as tax collectors, farming the taxes of the Roman provinces, and bidding on contracts for the collection of various types of taxes)
Further reading edit
- “publicain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.