plebiscitum

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English

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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plebiscitum (plural plebiscitums or plebiscita)

  1. (Ancient Rome, historical) A law enacted by the common people, under the superintendence of a tribune or some subordinate plebeian magistrate, without the intervention of the senate.
    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

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References

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  1. ^ plebiscitum, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022.

Further reading

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Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for plebiscitum”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Latin

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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plēbs +‎ scītum

Pronunciation

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Noun

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plēbiscītum n (genitive plēbiscītī); second declension

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

Inflection

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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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