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Quorum Has a Legal History
It takes two drama queens to tango, three Nervous Nellies to change a lightbulb, and 218 U.S. House Representatives to constitute a formal meeting. Each of these minimums—especially the last one—may be described as a quorum. This word, which can be pluralized as quorums or quora, comes directly from the Latin word quorum, which translates as "of whom." At one time, this Latin quorum was used in the wording of the commissions granting power to justices of the peace in England. Later, when it became an English noun, quorum initially referred to the number of justices of the peace who had to be present to constitute a legally sufficient bench. That sense is now rare, and today quorum is used to refer to the minimum number of people required to be present at a meeting in order for official business to take place. It can also be used more broadly to mean simply "a select group."
Examples of quorum in a Sentence
Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2024
Paxton wrote in a brief filed Wednesday night that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals should affirm a lower court’s decision that a quorum was not present for the bill’s passage.
—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 10 Oct. 2024
Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein agreed with Marcus’ assessment, and expects a Harris presidency with a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican quorum in the U.S. House of Representatives, will continue the pattern of sluggish spending increases.
—Brian Evans, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2024
Parliament was meant to hold an initial vote on the law Tuesday but could not reach a quorum, and had to postpone it.
—Stella Martany and Kareem Chehayeb, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Quorum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quorum. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quorum
noun
Legal Definition
quorum
noun
Middle English, a select number of English justices of the peace formerly required to be present at sessions to constitute a lawful bench, from Latin, of whom, genitive plural of qui who; from the wording of the commission once issued to justices of the peace in England
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