Editing Senate (section)

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{{Short description|Upper house of a bicameral legislature}}
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[[File:Cicero Denounces Catiline in the Roman Senate by Cesare Maccari.png|thumb|right|[[Cicero]] addressing the [[Catilinarian conspiracy]] in the [[Roman Senate]]]]
[[File:Senat 2833.jpg|thumb|right|The debating chamber of the [[Senate of the Czech Republic]] in the [[Wallenstein Palace]]]]

A '''senate''' is a [[deliberative assembly]], often the [[upper house]] or [[Legislative chamber|chamber]] of a [[bicameral]] [[legislature]]. The name comes from the [[Ancient Rome|ancient]] [[Roman Senate]] (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the elder" or "old man") and therefore considered wiser and more experienced members of the [[society]] or [[ruling class]]. However the Roman Senate was not the ancestor or predecessor of modern parliamentarism in any sense, because the Roman senate was not a de jure [[legislative]] body.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nM1LAAAAMAAJ&q=%22roman+senate%22+%22not+legislative%22 |title=Encyclopedia Americana |date=1965 |publisher=Americana Corporation |language=en}}
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Many countries have an assembly named a ''senate'', composed of ''senators'' who may be [[election|elected]], appointed, have [[inheritance|inherited]] the title, or gained membership by other methods, depending on the country. Modern senates typically serve to provide a chamber of "sober second thought" to consider [[legislation]] passed by a [[lower house]], whose members are usually elected. Most senates have asymmetrical duties and powers compared with their respective lower house meaning they have special duties, for example to fill important political positions or to pass special laws. Conversely many senates have limited powers in changing or stopping bills under consideration and efforts to stall or veto a bill may be bypassed by the lower house or another branch of government.<ref>Bicameral Legislatures: An international Comparison. Betty Drexhage. The Hague. 2015.</ref>