The office, rank, or position of being a decemvir; the status and authority held by one of the ten Roman magistrates.
From decemvir plus the suffix -ship (Old English -scipe, meaning state or condition). A less common alternative to 'decemvirate' for describing the position or tenure.
The suffix -ship (like in kingship, friendship, leadership) is ancient and versatile—it tells us that decemvirship was treated as a real, dignified position, even though the experiment failed pretty badly.
Nominalization of decemvir via '-ship' suffix; perpetuates masculine authority language by deriving office terminology from exclusively male role.
In historical contexts, 'decemvirship' documents Roman governance. For modern analogs, use 'magistrate position', 'council seat', or 'board membership' to avoid gendered officeholding language.
["magistrate position","council seat","board membership"]
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