Word.ws English Dictionary

duodecimvirate

UK/ˌdjuːəʊdɛˈsɪmvɪɹət/

duodecimvirate noun: a group of twelve people, especially (politics) a council of twelve men sharing office or rule, particularly such groups of magistrates in ancient Rome.

Noun

duodecimvirate

  1. (uncommon) A group of twelve people, especially (politics) a council of twelve men sharing office or rule, particularly such groups of magistrates in ancient Rome.
    • Strabo ſeems to ſay, there were fronting theſe halls, (which Diodorus likewiſe ſeems to diſtinguiſh from the labyrinth, ſtyling it the work of the Duodecimvirate) 27 other halls.1789, William Williams, Primitive History, from the Creation to Cadmus, page 482
    • It is essential to [Stalin] and to his duodecimvirate that open war shall be avoided or postponed for as long as possible.1948, The Contemporary Review, CLXXIV, page 184
    Synonyms:
    government

Examples of duodecimvirate in a sentence

  • It would appear that the duodecimvirate was held after the praetorship, but before the consulate.1996, Michael Peachin, Iudex vice Caesaris, page 135:
  • The logs of each member of the covert duodecimvirate displayed identical readouts.2008, Michael Somers, Galactic Exodus, page 73:

Synonyms of duodecimvirate

Forms of duodecimvirate

alternative formduodecemvirate

Origin of duodecimvirate

From Latin duodecimvirātus, from duodecimvir + -ātus. Equivalent to duodecimvir + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, here the group of people involved with it).

Questions about duodecimvirate

What does duodecimvirate mean?
Duodecimvirate means a group of twelve people, especially (politics) a council of twelve men sharing office or rule, particularly such groups of magistrates in ancient Rome.
How do you use duodecimvirate in a sentence?
It would appear that the duodecimvirate was held after the praetorship, but before the consulate.
What part of speech is duodecimvirate?
Duodecimvirate is a noun.
How do you pronounce duodecimvirate?
Duodecimvirate is pronounced /ˌdjuːəʊdɛˈsɪmvɪɹət/ (UK).

Words near duodecimvirate in the dictionary

  1. duodecimfid
  2. duodecimic
  3. duodecimo
  4. duodecimos
  5. duodecimvir
  6. duodecimvirate
  7. duodecimviri
  8. duodecimvirs
  9. duodecuple
  10. duodecuplicate
  11. duodecylaldehyde

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: duodecimvirate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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