I. ˈtriˌbyün, trə̇ˈb- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin tribunus head of the tribe, chieftain, commander, tribune, from tribus tribe — more at tribe
1. : a Roman official under the monarchy and the republic:
a. : a commander of troops furnished the Roman army by the tribes
b. : a military commander chosen from the plebeians
c. : an officer elected from the plebeians with the specific function of protecting the individual citizen and especially the plebeian from the arbitrary action of the patrician magistrates
2.
a. : an officer or body in any country whose function is like that of a Roman tribune especially in defending the common people
Congress as the tribune of the people — Max Lerner
b. : a person other than a member of an official legislative, executive, or judicial body who defends the rights of the individual
suggested that trade-union leaders serve as tribunes in management with a veto power over management decisions — H.M.Magid
the writer … is still the tribune of the person, the critic of institutions — Rex Warner
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, from Italian tribuna, from Medieval Latin, from Latin tribunal
1. : the raised platform in one end of a Roman basilica used especially as the official station of the praetor and commonly placed in a semicircular apse
2.
a. : the bishop's throne in a basilican church or the apsidal structure containing it
b. : an apsidal structure in a public building (as an Italian church)
3. : a dais or platform from which an assembly is addressed