census Hear it!

census definition

cen·sus (sen′səs)

noun

  1. in ancient Rome, the act of counting the people and evaluating their property for taxation
  2. an official, usually periodic, count of population and recording of economic status, age, sex, etc.

Etymology: L, orig., pp. of censere, to assess: see censor

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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