Definition of "optimate" [op•ti•mate]

• A member of the patrician ruling class in republican Ancient Rome; an aristocrat, a noble. (noun)

Wiktionary.org : Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• "Marius completely underestimated his optimate adversaries."
• "Caesar, as consul, employed Pompey's veterans to overcome violently optimate opposition."
• "But the optimate senate, led by M. Porcius Cato, refused to ratify his eastern settlement and blocked a land bill for his veterans."