Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898)

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Quinquevĭri

A name given by the Romans to any board of five commissioners such as under the Republic were frequently appointed by the extraordinary magistrates to carry out any particular measure, as the Quinqueviri Mensarii or bankers authorized to manage public loans and other financial matters, something like a modern syndicate. Other functions that were sometimes assigned to such commissioners were the repairs of the city walls and towers (Livy, xxv. 7), the formation of colonies (usually, however, done by triumviri), etc. There was also a regular board of five (Quinqueviri cis Tiberim) to guard against fires, breaches of public order, etc. (Livy, xxxix. 14).