suffrage

noun

suf·​frage ˈsə-frij 

sometimes

-fə-rij 

1

: a short intercessory prayer usually in a series

2

: a vote given in deciding a controverted question or electing a person for an office or trust

3

: the right of voting : franchise

also : the exercise of such right

Did you know?

Why would a 17th-century writer warn people that a chapel was only for “private or secret suffrages”? Because suffrage has been used since the 14th century to mean “prayer” (especially a prayer requesting divine help or intercession). So how did suffrage come to mean “a vote” or “the right to vote”? In answering that question, we get a lesson about the ways Latin words enter English. The Latin word suffrāgium has a number of vote-related meanings, including “a vote cast in an assembly” and “the right to vote.” In Medieval Latin, this same word had expanded to mean “vote, selection, aid, support, intercessory prayer,” and it’s this suffrāgium that gave us the prayer kind of suffrage in the 14th century. It wasn’t until the 16th century that English speakers mined the older—the classical—Latin suffrāgium for a word to use with regard to voting, and especially to refer to the right to vote.

Synonyms

• ballot
• enfranchisement
• franchise
• vote

Examples of suffrage in a Sentence

women who fought for suffrage

even as the world entered the 21st century, some nations still did not permit women's suffrage

Recent Examples on the Web

The first place in California to authorize youth suffrage was Berkeley, where in 2016 more than 70% of voters approved a measure allowing students to have a voice in school board races. —Meg Tanaka, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

Clinton was seen by many of her supporters as the culmination of the women’s suffrage movement. —Andrew Zucker, Glamour, 30 Oct. 2024

State of display: A special exhibit, Freedom Matters, features a 14th-century copy of the Magna Carta, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Artifacts and newspaper clippings tell the story of struggle for equality in America, from slavery to women's suffrage to the Civil Rights Movement. —Tasha Tsiaperas, Axios, 24 Oct. 2024

In 1914, Nevada became the last western state to pass suffrage. —Christina Elizabeth Dando, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "help, aid, intercessory prayer, indulgence," borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Medieval Latin suffrāgium "vote, selection, aid, support, intercessory prayer," going back to Latin, "vote cast in an assembly, right to vote, decision reached by a vote, influence exerted in support of a candidate or policy," from suffrāgor, suffrāgārī "to express public support (for a candidate, measure, etc.), be favorable (toward)" (from suf-, assimilated form of sub- sub- + -frāg-, probably from the base of frangere, past participle frāctus, "to break, shatter") + -ium, deverbal suffix of function or state — more at break entry 1

Note: Senses of suffrage having to do with voting were borrowed directly from classical Latin from the 16th century onward. The older literal meaning of Latin suffrāgārī that presumably underlies the attested senses having to do with political support and voting is obscure. Though the identity of suf- is clear, the element -frāg- has been subject to varying analyses. The most commonly accepted view sees -frāg- —despite the unexpected vowel length—as representing the verb frangere, though the import is not obvious. The idea that the reference is to the use of broken pieces of tile or pottery in voting is unlikely in view of what is known of earlier Roman election practices; moreover, the primary meaning of the verb suffrāgārī is more oriented toward support of a candidate than the mechanics of voting. In a revival of an older analysis Jyri Vaahtera connects -frāg- with the noun fragor "noise of breaking, crash, noisy clamor, shouting," and assumes that the verb alluded to the noise of an armed assembly banging weapons as a sign of acclamation (see "The origin of Latin suffrāgium," Glotta, vol. 61 [1993], pp. 66-80.)

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing suffrage

• universal suffrage
• woman suffrage

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Kids Definition

suffrage

noun

suf·​frage ˈsəf-rij 

: the right of voting

also : the exercise of such right

Legal Definition

suffrage

noun

suf·​frage ˈsə-frij 

1

: a vote in deciding a controverted question or the choice of a person for an office or trust

no State…shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate

—U.S. Constitution art. V

2

: the right of voting : franchise

also : the exercise of such right

Etymology

Latin suffragium vote, political support, from suffragari to support with one's vote