enfranchise

[en-fran-chahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enfranchise ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), en·fran·chised, en·fran·chis·ing.

to grant a franchise to; admit to citizenship, especially to the right of voting.

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

to set free; liberate, as from slavery.

Origin of enfranchise

1505–15; < Middle French, Old French enfranchiss- (long stem of enfranchir to free), equivalent to en- en-¹ + franch- free (see frank¹) + iss- -ish²

Related formsen·fran·chise·ment

[en-fran-chahyz-muh nt, -chiz-] /ɛnˈfræn tʃaɪz mənt, -tʃɪz-/, nounen·fran·chis·er, nounun·en·fran·chised, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for enfranchisement

freedom, integrity, independence, liberation, autonomy, exemption, democracy, self-determination, emancipation, relief, privilege, release, sovereignty, self-government, immunity, citizenship, birthright, right, dispensation, rest

British Dictionary definitions for enfranchisement

enfranchise

verb (tr)

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

to liberate, as from servitude

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

English law to convert (leasehold) to freehold

Derived Formsenfranchisement, nounenfranchiser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for enfranchisement

enfranchise

early 15c., "to set free," from Old French enfranchiss-, present participle stem of enfranchir "to set or make free; grant a franchise to;" from en- "make, put in" (see en- (1)) + franc "free" (see franchise).

Meaning "to admit to membership in a state" (generally with reference to voting privileges) is from 1680s. Related: Enfranchised; enfranchisement.