The term "patrician" originally referre to a group of elite families in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman empire, the class was broadened to include high court officials, and after the fall of the Western Empire became a term for Byzantine Imperial governors in the West. Medieval patrician classes were once again formally defined groups of elite burgher families in many medieval Italian republics, such as Venice and Genoa, and subsequently "patrician" became a vaguer term used for aristocrats and elite bourgeoisie in many countries.