Etymologically
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senate

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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