A cup of kindness

September 11th, 2008 at 07:00am Barry Wood

A “caucus” is “a private meeting of leaders or a committee of a political party or faction to decide on policy, pick candidates, etc.” It also can refer to the group at such a meeting or “a faction or group of politicians.”

It also can be a verb for the above activity.

Webster’s says the word probably came from the “Caucus Club,” an 18th-century social and political club.

The likely ultimate source, it says, was the Medieval Greek “kaukos,” for “drinking cup.” I like the implication that the emphasis of the original caucuses may have been on conviviality.

Here’s to politics!

Entry Filed under: word origins