enfranchise

American  

[en-fran-chahyz] / ɛnˈfræn tʃaɪz /

verb (used with object)

enfranchised, enfranchising

1. to admit to citizenship, especially to the right of voting.

   By about 1860, most white men without property had been enfranchised.

2. to give (a person or group) the rights or privileges of full participation in society or in any community or organization, especially the opportunity to influence policy or make their voice heard.

   The online forum enfranchises nurses, giving them a sense of belonging both to the profession and to the organization they work for.

3. to set free; liberate, as from slavery or from some disabling constraint.

   Some ideologies enfranchise innovative creativity, while others suppress it.

4. to endow (a city, constituency, etc.) with municipal or parliamentary rights.

5. to grant a franchise to.

   The Chicago White Sox were enfranchised in Iowa in 1894, when the team was known as the Sioux City Cornhuskers.

6. British. to give the tenant of (a leasehold) the right to purchase freehold of the property or to extend the lease, often up to the end of life.

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enfranchise British  

/ ɪnˈfræntʃaɪz /

verb

1. to grant the power of voting to, esp as a right of citizenship

2. to liberate, as from servitude

3. (in England) to invest (a town, city, etc) with the right to be represented in Parliament

4. English law to convert (leasehold) to freehold

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Other Word Forms

• enfranchisement noun
• enfranchiser noun
• unenfranchised adjective

Etymology

Origin of enfranchise

First recorded in 1505–15; from Middle French, Old French enfranchiss- (long stem of enfranchir “to free”), equivalent to en- en- ¹ + franch- “free” ( frank ¹ ) + iss- -ish ²

Explanation

The verb enfranchise is used when a group of people are given voting rights or freedoms they didn't have before. Many people under the age of 18 would like lawmakers to enfranchise their peer group so they can vote. Enfranchise traces back to the Old French word enfranchiss, a combination of en-, meaning "make, put in," and enfranchir, meaning "to set or make free." In the 1680s, enfranchise came to mean "to admit to membership in a state," something that usually came with the right to vote. You may know the word disenfranchised, an adjective that describes people who lack rights or liberties. To enfranchise is to give or restore rights to the disenfranchised.

Example Sentences

Pressure began building to enfranchise women voters in the early 20th century, notably in the southeastern state of Yucatan, said Lorenzo Meyer, a historian at the Colegio de Mexico.

From Reuters • Sep. 9, 2023

“We have such an engaged electorate here in D.C., and it’s very important that we enfranchise all eligible voters.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 18, 2022

Historically, the practice has been used to enfranchise voters who lack access to polls or drop boxes.

From Salon • Jan. 19, 2022

If it passes, Amendment 4 will enfranchise about 1.5 million people.

From Slate • Nov. 2, 2018

“Not because it enfranchises black men, but because it does not enfranchise all women, black and white.”

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling