senatorial

Etymology

It is from Latin senātōrius (“of a senator”) with the English suffix -al.^[2][3][4][5] The OED and the Shorter Oxford compare French sénatorial, recorded from 1727,^[2][4] and Etymonline allows that the English word may come from the French or be formed from English senator + -al.^[6][7] The Latin adjective is from senātor (“member of the senate”),^[2][5] from senex (“old; old man”), from Proto-Indo-European *sen- (“old”).^[6] Earlier English adjectives were senatory (1520s), senatorian (1610), senatorical (1610s) and senatorious (1660s).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to modern senators or a senate: 1742, in Samuel Johnson's Debates in the Senate of Lilliput in the Gentleman's Magazine.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1740.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

In the United States the word was used from 1785, in Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, of a district entitled to elect a senator.^[2][4] The use with reference to ancient Rome is recorded from 1791, in Cowper's translation of the Iliad.^[2] From 1841 it described a Roman province administered by the senate rather than by the emperor.^[2][3] The senatorial order was the highest of the three ranks of citizens in the later Roman republic.^[4] The Shorter Oxford also records an extended sense, dignified or grave.^[4]

Timeline

• 1742 – relating to modern senators or senates.^[2]
• 1785 – in the United States, of a district entitled to elect a senator.^[2]
• 1791 – relating to the senate of ancient Rome.^[2]
• 1841 – of a Roman province, governed by the senate.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to, characteristic of or befitting a senator or a senate: senatorial rank.^[3][8][2]
2. Made up of senators.^[3][8][2]
3. (chiefly US) Of a district, entitled to elect a senator.^[8][4][2]
4. (history) Of a Roman province, administered by the senate rather than by the emperor.^[3][4][2]

Word family

• senatorially
• nonsenatorial
• senatorial courtesy

Related words

• senator
• senate
• senile
• senior

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins