senator
Pluralsenators
- 1A member of a legislative chamber called a senate, elected in some countries, such as the United States, and appointed in others, such as Canada.
The senator spent the morning questioning witnesses at the hearing.
Canadian senators are appointed rather than elected by voters.
UsageA capital as a title before a name (Senator Smith) or in direct address (Thank you, Senator); otherwise a small letter: the senator, a senator-elect.
- 2A member of the Senate of ancient Rome, or of a similar governing council in another ancient state.
In the Roman Republic, a senator wore a tunic with a broad purple stripe to mark his rank.
The senators voted to grant the consul emergency powers.
Note
The Roman original, the institution every later senate borrows its name from. Its members came largely from the aristocracy and from former magistrates. Their decrees, the senatus consulta, shaped policy throughout the Republic and took on the force of law under the Empire, even as real power passed to the emperors.
- 3A member of a ruler's council or of a governing body in general, or a leading statesman.
Both we will raigne as Conſuls of the earth, And mightie kings ſhall be our Senators.
c. 1587, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First PartSimilarstatesman, councilor, counselor, adviser
Note
Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great (c. 1587–1588) shows how far this sense can reach: "mightie kings shall be our Senators," paired with ruling "as Consuls of the earth." The Roman titles turn into a boast of world dominion. In this sense the word names a ruler's highest counselors, whatever the state's constitution, with no chamber or election implied.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- Christopher Marlowe wrote Tamburlaine the Great. en.wikipedia.org
- The play can be dated approximately 1587–1588 by composition. en.wiktionary.org
- The two quoted phrases occur together in the play; Tamburlaine speaks them to Theridamas in Part I, Act I, scene ii. en.wiktionary.org
- Senators and consuls are Roman political titles. en.wikipedia.org
- The passage expresses Tamburlaine's ambition for world dominion. gutenberg.org
- The broader sense covers a ruler's council or governing council without requiring a senate or election. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meanings
- 4Someone belonging to a parliament or another lawmaking institution, especially Britain’s Parliament.
Similarlegislator, parliamentarian, lawmaker
Note
A wider, now dated use stretches the word to any lawmaker, and above all to a member of the British Parliament. Britain has no senate, and its legislators go by other titles, so this use survives mainly in older prose. Applied to a British legislator today, it will sound old-fashioned or simply mistaken. For current writing, reserve the word for the member of a senate.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- A dated broader sense includes members of any legislature, particularly the British Parliament. en.wiktionary.org
- Britain's Parliament has no chamber called a senate. parliament.uk
- British legislators have other institutional titles. parliament.uk
- 5An official holding an important position of authority within the church.
Note
An obsolete ecclesiastical use, carrying the word's air of eminence over from the state to the church. In an old text, read it as a senior churchman, not a legislator or civic counselor. It has no current life, so it should not be revived as a title for church offices today.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Senator has an obsolete ecclesiastical sense meaning an important church official. en.wiktionary.org
- In the ecclesiastical sense, the referent is a senior church official. en.wiktionary.org
- 6In Germany, a minister in the state government of Berlin, Bremen, or Hamburg, or a senior municipal executive in certain former Hanseatic cities.
Practice
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Origin
From Latin senātor, ultimately from senex ("old"); it can be understood as senate plus the suffix -or.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- English senator comes from Latin senātor. en.wiktionary.org
- The word ultimately derives from senex, meaning “old.” en.wiktionary.org
- Senator can be analyzed as equivalent to senate plus the suffix -or. en.wiktionary.org