The modern word
senate is derived from the
Latin word
senātus (senate), which comes from
senex, 'elder man'. A member or legislator of a senate is called
senator. The Latin word
senator was adopted into English with
no change in spelling. Its meaning is derived from a very ancient form of social organization, in which advisory or decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men. For the same reason, the word
senate is correctly used when referring to any powerful authority characteristically composed by the eldest members of a community, as a deliberative body of a faculty in an institution of higher learning is often called a senate. This form of adaptation was used to show the power of those in body and for the decision-making process to be thorough, which could take a long period of time. The original senate was the
Roman Senate, which lasted until at least CE 603, although various efforts to revive it were made in Medieval Rome. In the
Eastern Roman Empire, the
Byzantine Senate continued until the
Fourth Crusade, circa 1202–1204. The female form
senatrix also existed. in session Modern democratic states with
bicameral parliamentary systems are sometimes equipped with a senate, often distinguished from an ordinary parallel
lower house, known variously as the "
House of Representatives", "
House of Commons", "
Chamber of Deputies", "
National Assembly", "
Legislative Assembly", or "
House of Assembly", by electoral rules. This may include minimum age required for voters and candidates, one house employing a proportional voting system and the other being elected on a
majoritarian or
plurality basis, and an electoral basis or
collegium. Typically, the senate is referred to as the upper house and has a smaller membership than the lower house. In some
federal states senates also exist at the subnational level. In the
United States, most states and territories have senates, with the exception of
Nebraska,
Guam, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands (whose legislatures are unicameral bodies called the "Legislature" but whose members refer to themselves as "senators") and the
District of Columbia (whose unicameral legislature is called the Council). There is also the
US Senate at the federal level. Similarly in
Argentina, in addition to the
Senate at federal level, eight of the country's
provinces,
Buenos Aires,
Catamarca,
Corrientes,
Entre Ríos,
Mendoza,
Salta,
San Luis (since 1987) and
Santa Fe, have bicameral legislatures with a Senate.
Córdoba and
Tucumán changed to
unicameral systems in 2001 and 2003 respectively. In
Australia and
Canada, only the upper house of the federal parliament is known as the Senate. All
Australian states other than
Queensland have an upper house known as a
Legislative council. Several Canadian provinces also once had a Legislative Council, but these have all been abolished, the last being
Quebec's
Legislative council in 1968. In
Germany, the last senate of a
state parliament, the
Bavarian Senate, was abolished in 2000. Senate membership can be determined either through elections or appointments. For example, elections are held every three years for half the membership of the
Senate of the Philippines, the term of a senator being six years. In contrast, members of the
Canadian Senate are appointed by the
Governor General upon the recommendation of the
Prime Minister of Canada, holding the office until they resign, are removed, or retire at the mandatory age of 75. ==Alternative meanings==