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enfranchise

[ en-fran-chahyz ]
/ ɛnˈfræn tʃaɪz /
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See synonyms for: enfranchise / enfranchisement 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.
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Also franchise.

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

OTHER WORDS FROM enfranchise

en·fran·chise·ment [en-fran-chahyz-muhnt, -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. 2022

Words related to enfranchise

emancipate, empower, free, liberate, manumit, naturalize, release

British Dictionary definitions for enfranchise

enfranchise
/ (ɪnˈfræntʃaɪz) /
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 forms of enfranchise

enfranchisement, 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
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