camarilla
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Definition of camarilla
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Camarilla is borrowed from Spanish and is the diminutive of “cámara,” which traces to the Late Latin camera and means “room”; a “camarilla,” then, is literally a “small room.” Political cliques and plotters are likely to meet in small rooms (generally with the door closed) as they hatch their schemes, and, by 1834, “camarilla” was being used in English for such closed-door groups of scheming advisers. The word is relatively rare in formal English prose, but it still finds occasional use in news stories. Some other descendants of the Latin camera include “camera,” “comrade,” “camaraderie,” and “bicameral.”
Examples of camarilla in a Sentence
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘camarilla.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
camarilla
cam·a·ril·la
camarilla
cam•a•ril•la
(ˌkæm əˈrɪl ə, -ˈri ə)
Camarilla
Noun | 1. | camarilla – a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue |
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camarilla
noun, plural cam·a·ril·las [kam- uh – ril – uh z; Spanish kah-mah- r ee -lyahs, – r ee -yahs] /ˌkæm əˈrɪl əz; Spanish ˌkɑ mɑˈri lyɑs, -ˈri yɑs/ .
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Example sentences from the Web for camarilla
In either case the sovereignty of Ireland relapses into the hands of the permanent officials, that camarilla of Olympians.
Once master of the world, Julian could see its needs without using the eyes of the Asiatic camarilla .
Truly the camarilla were supporting each other, and I, an onlooker, stood amazed and astounded.
But how can we shake off this Camarilla that shelters itself behind a forest of bayonets?
Hardly anything could better illustrate the appalling mental position of the camarilla that has got to go.