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It’s hard to pinpoint the exact origins of caucus, but some scholars think the word may have developed from an Algonquian term for a group of elders, leaders, or advisers. An early example of the word in use comes from John Adams, who in February of 1763 reported that the Boston “caucus club,” a group of politically active city elders, would soon meet and that, at the meetings, those present would “smoke tobacco till you [could not] see from one end of the garret to the other.” A similarly opaque smoke screen seems to cloud the history of caucus to this day.
Examples of caucus in a Sentence
Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 11 Nov. 2024
On Thursday, Braun plans to meet with Indiana House and Senate Republican caucuses, as well as Holcomb.
—Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Nov. 2024
Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 6 Nov. 2024
In the Senate, thirty-four seats are being contested, twenty-three of them held by Democrats or by Independents who caucus with the Party.
—The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near caucus
Cite this Entry
“Caucus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caucus. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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caucus
noun
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