legislature
Other forms: legislatures
A legislature is a governing body that makes laws and can also amend or repeal them.
The word legislature comes from the Latin word for "law" — legis. In the US, each state has a legislature — made up of the elected state senators and assemblymen or women, or representatives. The US Congress is the national legislature. These bodies, whose members are often referred to as "law-makers," make up the legislative branch of government, as distinct from the executive and judicial branches.
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persons who make or amend or repeal lawssynonyms: general assembly, law-makers, legislative assembly, legislative bodytypes:senateassembly possessing high legislative powersCongress, U.S. Congress, US Congress, United States Congressthe legislature of the United States governmenthousean official assembly having legislative powerslegislative councila unicameral legislaturecongressa national legislative assemblydieta legislative assembly in certain countries (e.g., Japan)parliamenta legislative assembly in certain countriesDumaa legislative body in the ruling assembly of Russia and of some other republics in the former USSRHouse of Representatives, U.S. House, U.S. House of Representatives, US House, US House of Representatives, United States House of Representativesthe lower legislative house of the United States CongressHouse of Burgessesthe lower house of legislature in colonial VirginiaBritish Parliamentthe British legislative bodyOireachtasthe parliament of the Irish Republictype of:assemblya group of persons who are gathered together for a common purpose
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legislature / legislator
Vocabulary lists containing legislature
Learning this list will prime you to better understand news articles about the daily business of the American government. Note that the sentence examples for these words were plucked from a variety of reputable news sources (The Washington Times, The LA Times, Time, etc.)
Just as "history is written by the winners," the historical record often skips over missteps or mistakes made by those same winners. The Articles of Confederation were the founding fathers' first attempt at establishing an central alliance of all the different states in 1777. Although a valiant effort, the provisions laid down in this document didn't quite work the way the writers wanted them to, and they soon realized they had to start again with a new document. That second try is known as The Constitution, and it endures to this day. Here are 43 vocabulary words from The Articles of Confederation. The entire document is available here.
Declare your independence and master these words related to the American Revolution. Learn all about the conflict between the colonists and the redcoats, from the Boston Tea Party to the British surrender at Yorktown. Explore causes of the war and review major battles, key historical figures, and the structure of the new American republic.