publicain

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin pūblicānus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /py.bli.kɛ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

publicain m (plural publicains)

1. (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

• “publicain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.