Etymologically
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senate

Etymology and origin of the English word senate

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1200
Borrowed from
Old French senat via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (senātus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsen.ɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English senat,[2][3] borrowed from Old French senat,[4][2] and directly from Latin senātus (“the highest council of the Roman state”), literally “council of elders”,[4][2][3] from senex (“old man, old”), genitive senis,[4][2] from Proto-Indo-European *sen- (“old”).[4] It is related to senior and senile.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Roman senate: probably before 1200, in Layamon's Brut,[2] about 1200 in Etymonline[4] and about 1205 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

The governing body of a free city in Europe is from the late 14th century,[4] about 1380 in Chaucer's translation of Boethius.[2][6] A national governing assembly is from the 1550s in Etymonline[4] and 1560 in the OED,[6] usually the upper or smaller house of a legislature.[4] The upper house of the US Congress is a senate from 1775, first in the letters of Abigail Adams.[2][4] In Cambridge and some other British universities it is the governing body, from 1736.[6] Senator is also from before 1200.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1200 – the Roman senate.[2]
  • c. 1380 – the council of a city.[2][6]
  • 1550s – a national assembly.[4]
  • 1736 – a university senate.[6]
  • 1775 – the US Senate.[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The upper house of a legislature, as in the United States or Australia.
  2. The highest council of state in ancient Rome.
  3. A governing or advisory body, as of some universities.
  • senator
  • senatorial
  • senescent
  • senile
  • senior
  • sir
  • seignior
  • senescence

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Senate.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/senate. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·