Decurions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A member of a group of ten that governs or organizes tasks, often found in the context of ancient military or municipal structures
2. An individual responsible for the leadership or administration within a decuria, particularly in Roman times
3. A title referring to officials or leaders who operate in units of ten, especially in ancient governmental or military scenarios

Etymology: Decurion is the plural of "decurion", and the singular form comes straight from Latin "decuriō", a word built on "decem", meaning ten. The Romans used it for the leader of a "decuria", a group of ten men, and the sense of counting by tens runs through the whole word. Decurions appear in Roman army organisation, where a cavalry squadron was split into groups of ten, and in Roman civic life, where town councils were also called decurions. The plural here simply adds the English "-s" to the Latin-derived noun.