Commonly used terms
Adjourn: close or end the meeting
Adjourned meeting: a meeting which is a continuation of a previous meeting
Affirmative vote: a vote in favor, usually "Aye"
Agenda: outline of the order of business for a meeting
Amendment: a motion which alters or changes another motion
Assembly: the members of the group who are assembled to conduct business
Business: matters brought before an assembly for action
Bylaws: the document which contains the basic rules of the organization
Commit (or refer): to send to a committee for further study
Committee: small group of people chosen to study an issue and report back to the larger group
Debate: the discussion that follows the introduction of a motion before the vote is taken
Decorum: proper behavior, especially in debate
Dispose (of a motion): make a decision that allows the assembly to move on to other
business (approve, defeat, postpone, or send to a committee)
Division (of the assembly): a motion that calls for a rising vote, used to verify a voice vote
Division of the question: separating a motion into two or more independent
parts, so they can be debated and voted on separately
Ex-officio: by virtue of office; often the president is ex-officio a member of most committees
Floor (to obtain): to receive recognition by the presiding officer and get permission to speak
General consent: used instead of taking a formal vote when there
is no real opposition; also called unanimous consent
Germane: closely related or having a direct bearing on the subject being discussed
In order: correct parliamentary procedure
Lay on the table: to set aside temporarily to attend to something more urgent;
used in legislative bodies to kill motions, but not in RONR
Main motion: motion introducing a new subject for discussion and action
Majority vote: more than half of the votes cast
NOTE: votes cast is unrelated to number present or quorum needed
Minutes: the official written record of the business conducted at a meeting
Motion: a proposal that something be done
Negative vote: a vote against, usually "Nay"
Order of business: the schedule of business to be considered
Out of order: a motion or behavior which cannot be permitted at that time;
something that violates the rules of the organization
Parliamentary authority: the book of rules adopted by an organization to
govern their procedure, i.e. RONR
Pending: a motion which has been stated by the presiding officer but not yet disposed of by the assembly
Plurality vote: the largest number of votes when there are 3 or more choices
Point of order: a motion to call attention to a breaking of the rules
Postpone: to put off until a later time or the next meeting
Postpone indefinitely: the proper motion in RONR to kill a motion
Precedence (pronounced pre-see-dense): rank; certain motions have priority
over others
Prevailing side: the winning side; if a motion is approved, those who voted
Aye are on the prevailing side; if a motion loses, those who voted No are on the prevailing side
Previous question: a motion to stop debate and vote at once
Primary amendment: a motion to amend a main motion
Putting the question: putting the motion to a vote
Quorum: the minimum number of members who must be present to legally
conduct business at a meeting
Recognize a member: how the presiding officer indicates who has permission to speak
Reconsider: a motion to retake a previous vote; must be moved by someone
who voted on the prevailing side
Rescind: a motion to annul, or undo, a previous action
Resolution: a formal, usually long, motion presented in writing
Roberts, RONR: shorthand for Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised
Rules of order: written rules of parliamentary procedure, such as Roberts
Ruling: a decision made by the presiding officer; can be appealed
Second: an indication that a person is willing to have the motion discussed
Secondary amendment: a motion to amend a primary amendment
Special meeting: a meeting called for a specific purpose, which must be
stated in the meeting notice
Standing committees: permanent committees, usually listed in the bylaws
Standing rules: rules relating to details of administration; called Policies by some groups
Take from the table: a motion to resume consideration of a motion which was laid on the table
Undebatable motion: a motion that does not allow discussion before the vote
Unfinished business: matters which were not completed at the previous
meeting; are placed near the top of the agenda for the current meeting
Vote: a formal expression of opinion or choice
Presented as a service of the Tennessee Alpha Unit of the NAP
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