plebiscitum

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin plēbiscītum, plēbis scītum, plēbī scītum (“law of the common people or plebs”), from plēbis (the genitive singular of plēbs (“common people, plebeians”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)) + scītum (“decree, ordinance, statute”)[1] (from scīscō (“to ascertain; to know; to decree, enact, ordain”) (from sciō (“to know; to understand”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect; to split”)) + -scō (suffix meaning ‘to begin [doing something]’)) + -tum (suffix forming action nouns from verbs)).

Pronunciation

Noun

plebiscitum (plural plebiscitums or plebiscita)

  1. (Ancient Rome) A law enacted by the plebs, under the superintendence of a tribune or some subordinate plebeian magistrate, without the senate's intervention.[2]
    Synonym: plebiscite
  2. Synonym of plebiscite (“a direct popular vote on an issue of public importance, such as an amendment to the constitution, a change in the sovereignty of the nation, or some government policy; a referendum”).

Translations

References

  1. ^ “plebiscitum, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022.
  2. ^ “plebiscitum”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Further reading

Latin

Alternative forms

  • plēbī scītum, plēbeī scītum

Etymology

plēbs +‎ scītum

Pronunciation

Noun

plēbiscītum n (genitive plēbiscītī); second declension

  1. plebiscite, decree of the people, which originally applied only to the plēbs and not the patricians

Inflection

Second-declension noun (neuter).

singular plural
nominative plēbiscītum plēbiscīta
genitive plēbiscītī plēbiscītōrum
dative plēbiscītō plēbiscītīs
accusative plēbiscītum plēbiscīta
ablative plēbiscītō plēbiscītīs
vocative plēbiscītum plēbiscīta

Descendants

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