quorum
/ˈkwɔːrəm
/noun (plural quorums)
The minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.Are these meetings valid as the quorum must be from the persons who are entitled to attend and vote at such meetings?...
- Since the second meeting also assembled a quorum, the two plenums yielded two mutually exclusive, but equally valid, results.
- Attempts to resolve the issue failed in late summer and early fall because the board could not assemble a quorum for a meeting.
Origin
Late Middle English (referring to justices of the peace): used in commissions for committee members designated by the Latin quorum vos … unum (duos, etc.) esse volumus 'of whom we wish that you … be one (two, etc.)'.
This originally referred to justices of the peace whose presence was needed to constitute a deciding body. It was used in commissions for committee members to attend, in the Latin phrase quorum vos…unum (duos, etc.) esse volumus meaning ‘of whom we wish that you…be one (two, etc.)’.