psephology

noun

pse·​phol·​o·​gy sē-ˈfä-lə-jē 

: the scientific study of elections

psephological

ˌsē-fə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

adjective

psephologist

sē-ˈfä-lə-jist 

noun

Did you know?

Psephology comes from the Greek word "psēphos," meaning "pebble." (One relative of psephology is psephomancy, meaning "divination by pebbles.") Psephology merited election as the name for the work of election analysts, or psephologists, because pebbles were used by the ancient Greeks in voting. Similarly, the word ballot was an excellent choice for a means of voting since it comes from ballotta, an Italian word meaning "little ball," and Italians once voted by placing such balls in a container.

Examples of psephology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, people who have been in psephology for 50 years have never seen a party come from the mid-20s to the high 30s in a space of three weeks. —Sarah Jaffe, New Republic, 5 June 2017

Word History

Etymology

Greek psēphos pebble, ballot, vote; from the use of pebbles by the ancient Greeks in voting

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined above

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