suffrage
/ˈsʌfɹɪd͡ʒ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.38 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The right or chance to vote, express an opinion, or participate in a decision, especially in a democratic election.
Uncountable
noun
The right or chance to vote, express an opinion, or participate in a decision, especially in a democratic election.
American usage; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "universal suffrage, women's suffrage, negro suffrage"
- "The issues to be presented to the people of the state were black suffrage and woman suffrage. The Equal Rights Association committed all its limited resources to the Kansas campaign."
- "What role did the House of Commons play in the political life of the nation in the aftermath of suffrage? There is surprisingly little historiography to help answer the question."
- "But the President himself says that " upon him has been devolved, by the constitution, and the suffrages of the American people, the duty of superintending the operation of the executive departments of the Government,"
- "Hence, by rendering the suffrages secret in the Roman republic, all was lost; it was no longer possible to direct a populace that sought its own destruction"
- "1564, Pope Pius IV (unknown translator), Creed of Pope Pius IV I firmly believe that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub- Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-der.? Latin suffrāgō Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Classical Latin suffrāgiumbor. Old French suffrage Middle French suffragebor. ▲ Classical Latin suffrāgiumlbor. Middle English suffrage English suffrage From Middle English suffrage (“prayers or pleas on behalf of another”), from Middle French suffrage (from Old French suffrage) and its etymon Classical Latin suffrāgium (“support, vote, right of voting”). Not related to suffer. The sense of "vote" or "right to vote" was directly derived from Classical Latin.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: suffrage, suffrāgium
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsʌfɹɪd͡ʒ/
- British English: /ˈsʌfɹɪd͡ʒ/
Usage
- Uncountable
- American usage
- Countable
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.