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A.Word.A.Day--tribune

tribune (TRIB-yoon, tri-BYOON) noun

1. An officer of ancient Rome elected by the plebeians to protect their rights from arbitrary acts of the patrician magistrates.

2. A protector or champion of the people.

[Middle English, from Old French tribun, from Latin tribunus, from tribus, tribe.]

tribune noun

A raised platform or dais from which a speaker addresses an assembly.

[French, from Old French, part of a church, speaking platform, from Old Italian tribuna, from Medieval Latin tribuna, alteration of Latin tribunal.]

"Cola di Rienzi became the champion of the people and tried to revive the ancient Roman institutions, as envisaged also by Petrarch and Dante; in 1347 he was made tribune, but his dreams were doomed." Rome, city, Italy, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, 1 Jan 1993.

This week's theme: Words from the names of newspapers. (Examples: The Albuquerque Tribune, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.)

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