noun · masculinesecond declension
tribūnus
tribūnus m (genitive tribūnī)
Classical[trɪˈbuː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[triˈbuː.nus]
№ 807 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- historicalchief of a tribe
- commander
- historicaltribune, tribune of the plebs
- historicaltribune, military tribune
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
ūnus ex summīs virīs legiōnis; iuvenis nōbilis saepe tribūnus mīlitum fit.tribūnus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | tribūnus | tribūnī |
| genitive | tribūnī | tribūnōrum |
| dative | tribūnō | tribūnīs |
| accusative | tribūnum | tribūnōs |
| ablative | tribūnō | tribūnīs |
| vocative | tribūne | tribūnī |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- tribuni plebis sacrosancti (Liv. 3. 19. 10)
- the plebeian tribunes, whose persons are inviolable.
- appellare tribunos plebis (in aliqua re a praetore) (Liv. 2. 55)
- to appeal to the plebeian tribunes against a praetor's decision.
trĭbūnus, i, m. tribus, prop. the chief of a tribe; hence, in gen.,
I. a chieftain, commander, tribune.
I. Tribuni aerarii, paymasters, who assisted the quaestors, Cato ap. Gell. 7, 10, 2; cf. Varr. L. L. 5, § 181 Müll.; Fest. p. 2 ib.;
called also tribuni aeris, Plin. 33, 2, 7, § 31. By the Lex Aurelia these tribuni aerarii were made judges on the part of the people: (Milonem) tribuni aerarii condemnarunt, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 6, 6; id. Cat. 4, 7, 15: a tribunis aerariis absolutus, id. ib. 2, 16, 3; cf. in a pun with aerati (rich), id. Att. 1, 16, 8. This judicial office was taken from them by Julius Cæsar, Suet. Caes. 41.—II. Tribuni Celerum, captains or commanders of the Celeres, Liv. 1, 59, 7; cf. Dig. 1, 2, 2, § 15; Weissenb. ad Liv. 1, 15, 8. —
III. Tribuni militares or militum, tribunes of the soldiers, military tribunes; these were officers of the army, six to each legion, who commanded in turn, each two months at a time:
qui M. Aemilio legati et praefecti et tribuni militares fuerunt, Cic. Clu. 36, 99; so, militares, Plin. 34, 3, 6, § 11; cf. in sing.: cum tribunus militaris depugnavi apud Thermopylas, Cic. Sen. 10, 32: a tribunis militum, praefectis reliquisque, qui, etc., Caes. B. G. 1, 39; so, militum, id. ib. 3, 7; cf. in sing.: tribunus militum, id. ib. 3, 5; Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 2: tribuni cohortium, Caes. B. C. 2, 20.—Sing.: Stilonius Priscus qui tribunus cohortis, sub Classico fuerat, Plin. Ep. 3, 9, 18; cf.: tribunus minor, Veg. Mil. 2, 7; and tribunus legionis, Val. Max. 3, 2, 20.—IV. Tribuni militum consulari potestate, military tribunes with consular power; these were the highest officers of the State from A.U.C. 310 to A.U.C. 388. They were chosen from the patrician and plebeian orders, and were at first three, then six, and, after the year 352, eight in number, Liv. 4, 6, 8; 4, 7, 1; 5, 1, 2;
called tribuni consulares, id. 8, 33; Becker, Antiq. 2, 2, p. 136 sq.—V. Tribuni plebis, and more freq. simply tribuni, tribunes of the people, whose office it was to defend the rights and interests of the Roman plebeians against the encroachments of the patricians, Liv. 2, 33, 2; 2, 56, 3 sq.; Cic. Rep. 2, 33, 58 sq.; id. Leg. 3, 7, 16; cf. Becker, Antiq. 2, 2, p. 247 sq.; Lange, Antiq. 1, 1, p. 592 sq., and the authorities cited by both.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
tribūnus ī, m
tribus, the head of a tribe (see tribus); hence, a president, commander, representative, tribune : tribunus celerum, in quo tum magistratu forte Brutus erat, L.—Esp., tribuni aerarii, paymasters, quaestors' assistants (by the Lex Aurelia made judges on the part of the plebs): (Milonem) tribuni aerarii condemnarunt.—Tribuni militares or militum, tribunes of the soldiers, military tribunes, colonels (a legion had six, each of whom commanded it for two months of the year): tribunus militaris cum Servilio profectus: tribuni cohortium, i. e. then present with the cohorts , Cs.— From B.C. 444 to B.C. 366 the highest officers of the State, at first three in number, then six, and after B.C. 402 eight, chosen both from the patricians and the plebeians, were military tribunes with consular power : tribunos militum consulari potestate creari sinere, L.: tribuni consulares, L. —With plebis or plebei (expressed or understood), a tribune of the common people, representative of the plebeians (a magistrate charged with the protection of the commons against the patricians): ita tribuni plebei creati duo, L.: spem habere a tribuno plebis.
Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*tréyes
- Proto-Indo-European*tri-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*tridʰ(h₁)ús?
- Proto-Indo-European*tri-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
- Proto-Indo-European*tribʰú(H)s?
- Proto-Italic*triðus
- Latintribūnus
Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Latin -nus Latin tribūnus From tribus + -nus.
Descendants
- Englishtribunefrom Old French tribun
- Italiantribuno
- Portuguesetribuno
- Romaniantribun
- Spanishtribuno
- Byzantine Greekτριβούνος
- Siciliantribbunu
In English words that came into English from tribūnus
- tribunetribūnus
- tribunaltribūnal
- tribunatetribūnātus