senate

English

Etymology

From Middle English senat, from Old French senat, from Latin senātus (“council of elderes; a senate”), from senex (“old”).

Pronunciation

• (RP, UA) IPA: /ˈsɛnɪt/, /ˈsɛnət/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɛnɪt

Noun

senate (plural senates)

1. In some bicameral legislative systems, the upper house or chamber.
2. A group of experienced, respected, wise individuals serving as decision makers or advisors in a political system or in institutional governance, as in a university, and traditionally of advanced age and male.
   • 1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley,"The Revolt of Islam", canto 11, stanza 13, lines 4338-9,

     Before the Tyrant's throne

     All night his aged Senate sate.

Related terms

senator senatorial senatus

senescent senile senior

Translations

the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems.

Afrikaans: senaat (af) Armenian: սենատ (hy) (senat) Catalan: senat m. Czech: senát (cs) m. Danish: senat (da) Dutch: senaat (nl) m. Esperanto: senato (eo) Finnish: senaatti (fi) French: sénat (fr) m. German: Senat (de) m. Greek: γερουσία (el) f. Haitian Creole: sena Hebrew: כנסט Icelandic: öldungadeild (is) f.

Irish: seanad (ga) Italian: senato (it) m. Khmer: ព្រឹទ្ធិសភា (km) (pruet sak phea) Latin: senatus (la) m. Mandarin: 參議院 (cmn) (Cānyìyuàn) Norwegian: senat (no) Persian: سنا (senâ) Polish: senat (pl) m. Portuguese: senado (pt) m. Russian: сенат (ru) (s'enát) m. Sotho: senate (st) Spanish: senado (es) m. Swedish: senat (sv) c. Welsh: senedd

References

• senate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “senate” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.

Anagrams

• sateen