[tri.bune] n [ME, fr. L tribunus, fr. tribus tribe] (14c) 1: a Roman official under the monarchy and the republic with the function of protecting the plebeian citizen from arbitrary action by the patrician magistrates
2: an unofficial defender of the rights of the individual -- tri.bune.ship n
[2]tribune n [F, fr. It tribuna, fr. L tribunal] (ca. 1771): a dais or platform from which an assembly is addressed