quorum

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: quor=um

CIDE DICTIONARY

quorum, n. [L., of whom, gen. pl. of qui who, akin to E. who. See the Note below.].

 Such a number of the officers or members of any body as is competent by law or constitution to transact business; as, a quorum of the House of Representatives; a constitutional quorum was not present.  [1913 Webster]
" The term arose from the Latin words, Quorum aliquem vestrum . . . unum esse volumus (of whom we wish some one of you to be one), which were used in the commission formerly issued to justices of the peace in England, by which commission it was directed that no business of certain kinds should be done without the presence of one or more of certain justices specially designated. Justice of the peace and of the quorum designates a class of justices of the peace in some of the United States."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

quorum, n. the fixed minimum number of members that must be present to make the proceedings of an assembly or society valid.

Etymology

L, = of whom (we wish that you be two, three, etc.), in the wording of commissions

DEVIL DICTIONARY

quorum

n. A sufficient number of members of a deliberative body to have their own way and their own way of having it. In the United States Senate a quorum consists of the chairman of the Committee on Finance and a messenger from the White House; in the House of Representatives, of the Speaker and the devil.

THESAURUS

quorum

assemblee, assembly, assignation, at home, ball, brawl, caucus, colloquium, commission, committee, conclave, concourse, congregation, congress, conventicle, convention, convocation, council, dance, date, diet, eisteddfod, festivity, fete, forgathering, forum, gathering, get-together, housewarming, levee, meet, meeting, panel, party, plenum, prom, rally, reception, rendezvous, seance, session, shindig, sit-in, sitting, soiree, symposium, synod, turnout

ROGET THESAURUS

quorum

Council

N council, committee, subcommittee, comitia, court, chamber, cabinet, board, bench, staff, senate, senatus, parliament, chamber of deputies, directory, reichsrath, rigsdag, cortes, storthing, witenagemote, junta, divan, musnud, sanhedrim, classis, Amphictyonic council, duma, house of representatives, legislative assembly, legislative council, riksdag, volksraad, witan, caput, consistory, chapter, syndicate, court of appeal, board of control, board of works, vestry, county council, local board, audience chamber, council chamber, state chamber, cabinet council, privy council, cockpit, convocation, synod, congress, convention, diet, states-general, assembly, caucus, conclave, clique, conventicle, meeting, sitting, seance, conference, convention, exhibition, session, palaver, pourparler, durbar, house, quorum, council fire, powwow, primary, meeting, assemblage, member, senator, member of parliament, M, P, councilor, representative of the people, assemblyman, congressman, councilman, councilwoman, alderman, freeholder, senatorial, curule, congressional, parliamentary, legislative, law-making, regulatory, deliberative.