In a modern democracy , a senate is a group of people who are part of a legislature . A legislature passes or changes laws for their country , state , or other area. Members of a senate are called senators. Some legislatures are bicameral , meaning they have two groups of people (working in separate places) called houses . A senate can be called a House of Senators .

The senate of some such legislatures is weaker than the other house. The other house is called a House of Representatives , House of Commons , or Assembly. In bicameral legislatures, both houses must pass the same bill to make it a law. Modern democratic systems having legislatures with senates include the United States of America (U. S.), Canada , Australia and many states in the United States.

The first ever senate was the Roman Senate . The name comes from their word for "elder".

Senate is also the name of the ruling body of some universities .

Senate chambers [ change | change source ]

Sometimes, the senators are split into different groups, who then have different responsibilities. These groups meet in different rooms; each group is called a chamber .