Meanings
senate1
nounsenate (plural senates)
plural senates
- In some bicameral legislative systems, the upper house or chamber.
- A group of experienced, respected, wise individuals serving as decision makers or advisors in a political system or in institutional governance, as in a university, and traditionally of advanced age.
Before the Tyrant's throne All night his aged Senate sate.
1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam, canto 11, stanza 13, lines 4338-9 - In Germany, the executive branch of government in the city states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg; the governments of cities that were part of the Hanseatic League; and the bench in a higher appellate court.
Senate2
proper nounSenate (plural Senates)
plural Senates
- Any of several legislative bodies. (In countries which have multiple legislative bodies, the Senate is often the more senior.)
- historicalThe council that governed the ancient Roman Republic.
- CanadaThe Senate of Canada; the upper house of the Canadian parliament; "the Senate".
- USThe United States Senate.
- USThe upper legislative body of many of the states of the United States.
- PhilippinesThe upper house of the Philippine Congress.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe upper house of the United States Congress
Similar
United States SenateU.S. SenateUS Senate
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinsenātus“council of elders; a senate”
- Old Frenchsenat
- Middle Englishsenat
- Englishsenate
From Middle English senat, from Old French senat, from Latin senātus (“council of elders; a senate”), from senex (“old”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans senaat
- senaatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Ancient Greek σύγκλητος
- σύγκλητος (súnklētos)Roman senate
Arabic مَجْلِس الشُّيُوخ, مَجْلِس
- مَجْلِس الشُّيُوخ (majlis aš-šuyūḵ)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- مَجْلِس (majlis)legislative body
- مَجْلِس أَعْلَى (majlis ʔaʕlā)legislative body
- مَجْلِس اَلشُّيُوخ اَلرُّومَانِيّ (majlis aš-šuyūḵ ar-rūmāniyy)Roman senate
Basque senatu
- senatuthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Bulgarian сена́т
- сена́т (senát)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Catalan senat
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Chinese Cantonese 參議院 /参议院, 上議院 /上议院
- 參議院 /参议院Canadian senate
- 上議院 /上议院Canadian senate
Chinese Mandarin 參議院 /参议院, 參議院 /参议院
- 參議院 /参议院 (cānyìyuàn)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- 參議院 /参议院 (cānyìyuàn)legislative body
- 議院 /议院 (yìyuàn)legislative body
- 議會 /议会 (yìhuì)legislative body
- 元老院 (yuánlǎoyuàn)Roman senate
- 參議院 /参议院 (cānyìyuàn)Canadian senate
- 上議院 /上议院 (shàngyìyuàn)Canadian senate
Czech senát
- senátthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Danish senat
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Dutch senaat, senaat
- senaatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- senaatlegislative body
- senaatRoman senate
Esperanto senato
- senatothe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Estonian senat
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Finnish senaatti, senaatti
- senaattithe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- senaattiUS Senate
- liittovaltion senaattiUS Senate
- senaattiUS state senate
- osavaltion senaattiUS state senate
- senaattilegislative body
- senaattiRoman senate
- senaattiCanadian senate
French sénat, Sénat
- sénatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- Sénatlegislative body
- sénatlegislative body
- SénatRoman senate
- SénatCanadian senate
German Senat, Senat
- Senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- Senatlegislative body
- SenatRoman senate
Greek γερουσία, γερουσία
- γερουσία (gerousía)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- γερουσία (gerousía)legislative body
- σύγκλητος (sýgklitos)Roman senate
Hebrew סֶנָאט, סנאט
- סֶנָאט (senát)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- סנאט (senát)US Senate
- סנאט (senát)legislative body
Hindi सीनेट
- सीनेट (sīneṭ)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Hungarian szenátus
- szenátusthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Icelandic öldungadeild, Öldungadeild Bandaríkjaþings
- öldungadeildthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- Öldungadeild BandaríkjaþingsUS Senate
Indonesian senat
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Irish seanad
- seanadthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Italian senato, Senato
- senatothe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- SenatoRoman senate
Japanese 上院, 元老院
- 上院 (jōin)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- 元老院 (genrōin)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- 上院 (jōin)legislative body
- 議院 (giin)legislative body
- 議会 (gikai)legislative body
- 参議院 (sangiin)legislative body
- 元老院 (genrōin)legislative body
- 元老院 (genrōin)Roman senate
Korean 상원, 원로원
- 상원 (sang'won)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- 원로원 (wollowon)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- 미 상원 (mi sang'won)US Senate
- 상원 (sang'won)legislative body
- 원로원 (wollowon)Roman senate
Latin senātus, senātus
- senātusthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- senātusa group of experienced, respected, wise individuals serving as decision makers or advisors
Latvian senāts
- senātsthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Lithuanian senatas
- senatasthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Malay senat
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Māori kāhui hanga ture
- kāhui hanga turea group of experienced, respected, wise individuals serving as decision makers or advisors
Norwegian Bokmål senat
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Persian سنا, مجلس سنا
- سنا (senâ)US Senate
- مجلس سنا (majles-e senâ)US Senate
Polish senat, Senat
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- SenatRoman senate
Portuguese senado, senado
- senadothe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- senadolegislative body
- senadoRoman senate
Russian сена́т, сена́т
- сена́т (senát)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- сена́т (senát)US Senate
- сена́т (senát)US state senate
- сена́т (senát)legislative body
- сена́т (senát)Roman senate
- Сена́т (Senát)Roman senate
- сена́т (senát)Canadian senate
Slovak senát
- senátthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Spanish senado, senado
- senadothe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- senadolegislative body
- SenadoRoman senate
Swahili seneti
- senetithe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Swedish senat, senaten
- senatthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
- senatenUS Senate
- delstatssenatenUS state senate
- senatenRoman senate
- senatenCanadian senate
Tagalog senado
- senadolegislative body
Thai วุฒิสภา
- วุฒิสภา (wút-tí-sà-paa)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Turkish senato
- senatothe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Ukrainian сена́т
- сена́т (senát)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Urdu سِینیٹ
- سِینیٹ (sīneṭ)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Vietnamese thượng nghị viện
- thượng nghị việnthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Welsh senedd
- seneddthe upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Yiddish סענאַט
- סענאַט (senat)the upper house in some bicameral legislative systems
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with senate
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
senate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/senate
MLA
“senate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/senate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “senate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/senate.
Source: senate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.