curule

views updated May 21 2018

curule denoting or relating to the authority exercised by the senior magistrates in ancient Rome, chiefly the consul and praetor, who were entitled to use the sella curulis (‘curule seat’, a kind of folding chair).

The word is recorded from the early 17th century and comes from Latin curulis, from currus ‘chariot’ (in which the chief magistrate was conveyed to the seat of office), from currere ‘to run’.