1. A board or commission of ten men in ancient Rome, especially the ten magistrates who drafted the Twelve Tables (the earliest Roman law code, circa 450 BCE).
Usage: historical; plural form; singular is decemvir; often capitalized when referring to the specific historical body

Examples

• The decemviri were tasked with creating a written legal code for the Roman Republic.
• In 451 BCE, the decemviri began their work on what would become the Twelve Tables.
• The power of the decemviri was eventually challenged by the Roman people.
• Ancient historians recorded the activities of the decemviri in great detail.
• The decemviri represented an early attempt at codifying Roman law.