quorum

plural quorums · plural quora · alternative qorum · alternative qworum · alternative quoram · alternative corum · alternative qorum

1. historicalA select body of (usually eminent) justices of the peace, every member of which had to be present to constitute a deciding body; a member of this body. Later more generally: all justices collectively.First known use 1426
2. The minimum number of members required for a group to officially conduct business and to cast votes, often but not necessarily a majority or supermajority.First known use 1616

   We can discuss the issue tonight but cannot vote until we have a quorum.

   2 more examples

   Texas House Democrats’ historic quorum break unexpectedly ended Thursday evening when at least three new Democrats returned to the floor, paving the way for state Republicans to pass restrictive voting legislation. The surprise turn of events quickly led to public accusations of betrayal among Democrats, as the House now has the required two-thirds of members necessary for a quorum.

   2021 August 19, Dianne Gallagher, “Texas Democrats’ effort to freeze voting bill ends”, in CNN

   They may not be using the same sort of hard-charging tactics we saw in the first Trump administration, when they would deny Republicans quorums for votes in committee or those kinds of things, but what we will see is they’re going to ask hard questions and make made-for-TV moments.

   2024 December 7, Zachary B. Wolf, “What will be the signature achievement of Trump 2.0?”, in CNN

3. archaicDistinguished or essential members of any body; a select company.First known use 1596
4. distributed systemscomputingThe minimum number of votes that a distributed transaction has to obtain in order to be allowed to perform an operation in a distributed system.