%syndicate%

n. [ Cf. F. syndicat, LL. syndicatus. ] 1. The office or jurisdiction of a syndic; a council, or body of syndics. Bp. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An association of persons officially authorized to undertake some duty or to negotiate some business; also, an association of persons who combine to carry out, on their own account, a financial or industrial project; as, a syndicate of bankers formed to take up and dispose of an entire issue of government bonds. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A more or less organized association of criminals controlling some aspects of criminal activity, in a specific area or country-wide; -- used loosely as a synonym for organized crime or the mafia. [ PJC ]

4. (Journalism) a commercial organization that purchases various journalistic items, such as articles, columns, or comic strips, from their individual creators, and resells them to newspapers or other periodicals for simultaneous publication over a wide area. [ PJC ]