Duumvirate

//djuːˈʌmvɪɹət// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Synonym of diarchy: rule by two people, especially two men.

    "To replace the all-powerful Salan, de Gaulle appointed a duumvirate – Paul Delouvrier and General Maurice Challe."

  2. 2
    Any of several offices of the Roman Republic held by two joint magistrates known as duumvirs. historical

Example

More examples

"To replace the all-powerful Salan, de Gaulle appointed a duumvirate – Paul Delouvrier and General Maurice Challe."

Etymology

From Latin duumvirātus, from duumvir + -ātus. Equivalent to duumvir + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, here the group of people involved with it).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.