caucus
n. countablen. a meeting where members of a political party or group gather to make decisions or choose leaders. You use this when talking about how groups organize themselves before a big vote.
n. a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction, usually to decide on policy or select candidates. Often used to describe the internal organizational structures of legislative bodies.
The party members held a caucus to choose their new leader.
Before the general assembly began, the environmental caucus met to finalize their list of demands for the new law.
The state's unique caucus system requires voters to gather in local gymnasiums and physically move to different corners of the room to show support for their preferred candidate.
Unknown. Often claimed to be from an Algonquian language; transcribed words such as cawaassough and caucauasu meaning "counselor, elder, adviser" appear in early texts. A popular folk etymology attested in Great Leaders and National Issues of 1896 stated: "In the early part of the eighteenth century a number of caulkers connected with the shipping business in the North End of Boston held a meeting for consultation. That meeting was the germ of the political caucuses which have formed so prominent a feature of our government ever since its organization." American Heritage Dictionary states the term is taken from the Caucus Club of Boston in the 1760s, possibly from Medieval Latin caucus (“drinking vessel”).
Often used as a collective noun; can be used as a verb in American English to describe the act of meeting.