/ˈsɛn.ə.tər/·noun·c. 300 BCE (Latin senātor in Republican Roman texts); c. 1350 CE in Middle English; 1787 CE as a live political title in the US Constitution.·Established
Origin
From Latin senātor, from senātus (council of elders), from senex (oldman), from PIE *sen- (old). The same root givesEnglish senior, senile, señor, sir, and sire — six words from one concept about old age.
Definition
A member of a senate, especially the ancient Roman senātus or any deliberative upper legislative chamber modelled on it, from Latin senātor, from senex 'old man', from PIE *sen- 'old'.
The Full Story
Latinc. 500 BCEwell-attested
Theword 'senator' descends from PIE *sen- (old), one of the most culturally significantroots in the Indo-European family. From *sen- came Latin senex (old man), which generated senātus — literally 'council of elders.' The senātor was a member of this council: a man who had served as a magistrate, accumulated years, and
Did you know?
Every time someone is addressed as 'sir' or 'señor', they arereceiving a title that descends from PIE *sen- (old). Sir comes from OldFrench sire, which comes from Vulgar Latin *seior, a contraction of Latin senior (more aged). Señor takesthesame route through
— the 'elder' sense fading into social deference. Old French seigneur follows the same path. English 'sir' is a further reduction of sire, from Old French, itself from Latin senior. So senator, senior, senile, señor, signore, sire, and sir are cognates — all 'old man' in different registers. The connection to Old Irish sen (old) and Sanskrit sana (old) confirms *sen- as a genuine PIE root with wide attestation. The word re-entered active political life in 1787 when the American framers named the upper chamber the Senate, consciously invoking Roman Republican precedent. Key roots: *sen- (Proto-Indo-European: "old, advanced in age — source of Latin senex, Sanskrit sana, Old Irish sen, Lithuanian senas, Gothic sineigs"), senex (Latin: "old man — base for all Latin sen- derivatives: senior, senile, senātus, senator"), senātus (Latin: "council of elders — the institutional noun from which senator derives"), senior (Latin: "older, more aged (comparative of senex) — ancestor of señor, signore, seigneur, sire, sir").
sana (सन)(Sanskrit (true cognate from PIE *sen- — old))sen(Old Irish (true cognate from PIE *sen- — old))sineigs(Gothic (true cognate from PIE *sen- — old, venerable))senas(Lithuanian (true cognate from PIE *sen- — old))señor(Spanish (from Latin senior — same *sen- root))signore(Italian (from Latin senior — same *sen- root))