senate
nounUK /ˈsɛnɪt/ · US /ˈsɛnət/
Etymology From Middle English senat, from Old French senat, from Latin senātus (“council of elders; a senate”), from senex (“old”).
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.
- Before the Tyrant's throne All night his aged Senate sate.1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam, canto 11, stanza 13, lines 4338-9:
3
In Germany, the executive branch of government in the city states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg; the governments of cities that were part of the Hanseatic League; and the bench in a higher appellate court.
- Derived terms
- nonsenate, senate-house