LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neuterthird declension

tribūnal

tribūnal n (genitive tribūnālis)
Classical[trɪˈbuː.naɫ]Ecclesiastical[triˈbuː.nal]

Meaning

  1. a raised semicircular or square platform, on which the seats of magistrates were placed; tribunal, judgment seat, dais, camp platform
    27 - 25 BC . Ab Urbe Condita, Titus Livius, II, Chapter XII. Ubi eo venit, in confertissima turba prope regium tribunal constitit. When he came there, he was standing in the crammed crowd, near the king's tribunal.
  2. cenotaph
  3. metonymicallya court of law, tribunal; judgment
  4. broadlyany platform used for purposes other than above
  5. broadlymound, dam, embankment
  6. figurativelyheight, greatness

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativetribūnaltribūnālia
genitivetribūnālistribūnālium
dativetribūnālītribūnālibus
accusativetribūnaltribūnālia
ablativetribūnālītribūnālibus
vocativetribūnaltribūnālia

trĭbūnal (moleste diligentibus permittamus et tribunale dicere, Quint. 1, 6, 17; yet trĭbūnāle is found Corp. Inscr. Lat. 206, 24), ālis, n. tribunus.
I. Lit.
1. A raised semicircular or square platform, on which the seats of magistrates were placed, a judgment-seat, tribunal (cf.: suggestus, sella): compleatur tribunal, Cic. Brut. 84, 290: popularis accessus ac tribunal, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8, § 25: praetor tribunal suum juxta Trebonii praetoris urbani sellam collocavit, Caes. B. C. 3, 20; cf. Tac. A. 15, 29; Mart. 11, 98, 17: eum de tribunali deturbavit, Caes. B. C. 3, 21; Cic. Vatin. 9, 21: (praetor) palam de sellā ac tribunali pronuntiat, Si quis, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 38, § 94: quem ad se vocari et de tribunali citari jussit, id. ib. 2, 5, 7, § 16: pro tribunali agere aliquid, id. Fam. 3, 8, 21; cf. id. Pis. 5, 11: qui dicunt apud tribunalia, Quint. 11, 3, 134; cf. id. 11, 3, 156: laudatum ex quattuor tribu nalibus, id. 12, 5, 6: nobis in tribunali praetoris urbani sedentibus, Cic. de Or. 1, 37, 168: sedens pro tribunali, Liv. 39, 32, 11: Fulvius magnā circumfusus turbā ad tribunal consulis venit, id. 26, 22, 3; cf. Tac. A. 1, 75.—
2. The elevation in the camp, from which the general addressed the soldiers or administered justice, Liv. 28, 27, 15; Tac. H. 3, 10; 4, 25; cf.: regium (sc. Porsenae), Liv. 2, 12, 6.—
3. The seat of the prætor in the theatre, Suet. Aug. 44.—
4. A tribunal erected as a monument to a deceased person of high rank: sepulcrum Antiochiae ubi crematus (Germanicus), tribunal Epidaphnae, quo in loco vitam finierat, Tac. A. 2, 83; Inscr. Orell. 4548.—
II. Transf., in gen., a mound, dam, embankment: tribunalia structa manibus ad experimenta altissimi aestūs, Plin. 16, 1, 1, § 3.—
B. Of the persons who sit on a tribunal, the magistrates: omne forum quem spectat et omne tribunal, Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 57.—
III. Trop., height, greatness: quid superest ad honoris mei tribunal et columen, ad laudis meae cumulum? App. Flor. p. 356, 16.

Origins

Neuter gender of supposed adjective *tribūnālis, from tribūnus (“tribune”), from tribus (“tribe”). Equivalently, tribūnus + -al.

Descendants
  • Catalantribunal
  • Englishtribunal
  • Frenchtribunal
  • Italiantribunale
  • Portuguesetribunal
  • Romaniantribunal
  • Spanishtribunal
  • Galiciantribunal
  • Russianтрибуна́л
  • Serbo-Croatiantribunal

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesTribunalTribunal (βῆμα), a raised platform, or, to use the term adopted from the French, tribune, on which the SELLA of the praetor or presiding magistrate wa…

Quick answers

What does tribūnal mean in Latin?
tribūnal, a noun, means “a raised semicircular or square platform, on which the seats of magistrates were placed; tribunal, judgment seat, dais, camp platform; cenotaph”.
What is the genitive of tribūnal?
The genitive singular is tribūnālis. tribūnal is neuter, third declension.
How do you pronounce tribūnal?
In classical Latin, [trɪˈbuː.naɫ]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [triˈbuː.nal].