The United States Senate was named after the Roman Senate (senatus) because of its similarities. The term senate has been in English for over five centuries, mainly referring to Rome but also meaning “legislative body” in general. The Latin term senatus translates to “council of elders,” as it was meant to consist of retired magistrates who were typically older. Senatus comes from senex, which simply meant “elderly” or “old man,” tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root sen, meaning “old.” This makes senate a cognate of words like seneschal, senior, and senile. The use of the word senate in literature has been decreasing over time but sees peaks in searches during every election cycle.
