The term legislature is derived from the Latin word "leges" which is the plural form of "lex," the Latin term for law. A legislature, therefore, is a body that makes laws.
In most republics and democracies, the law-making body is a large assembly. In direct democracies, such as that of ancient Athens, all citizens debate and vote on the laws. Larger, modern countries tend to be republics rather than democracies, meaning that rather than voting directly on laws, citizens elect representatives to assemblies and those representatives vote for the citizens who elect them on laws. These assemblies that vote on laws are termed legislatures.
The United States has what is called a "bicameral" legislature. This term is derived from two Latin roots, "bi" (meaning two) and "camera" (meaning chamber). The Congress of the United States is divided into two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The United Kingdom also has a bicameral legislature called Parliament, divided into the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
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