Committees

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈmɪtiz/

Definitions

1. Groups of individuals officially chosen to perform a particular task or oversee a specific area of work
2. Bodies formed by appointing members to manage or consider specific issues or projects
3. Assemblies of people designated to act collectively on certain responsibilities or topics

Etymology: "Committees" is the plural of "committee," which first named a single person rather than a group. English borrowed the word from Anglo-French, which drew on the Latin "committere," meaning to bring together or to entrust. The core idea was of a matter handed over to someone's care. The sense of a body of several people came later, as one trusted person was replaced by several people entrusted together with the same task. The plural therefore counts separate bodies, each formed to take up its own responsibility.

Synonyms: groups, panels, boards, task forces