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decurion

decurion

1 9.9
A Roman officer who led ten soldiers or served on a town council
  • noun
  • /dɪˈkjʊəriən/
  • Specialized
: decurión
  • The responsibilities of a decurion included training and leading his ten soldiers.

Examples

Surface Forms

decurion singular
decurions plural

Etymology

Decurion comes from the Latin part decem, which means 'ten', and it originally named a leader of ten men, like the words decade or decimal that also show the 'ten' idea. That's why a decurion was an officer in charge of ten soldiers and later a local city leader.