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election

Etymology and origin of the English word election

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1270
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman eleccioun via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (legere)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /iˈlek.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English eleccioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman eleccioun and Old French elecion “choice, selection”,[2][3] from Latin ēlēctiō (“a choice, selection”),[2][4][5] from ēlēctus, the past participle of ēligere (“to pick out, choose”),[2][3] from ex- (“out”) and legere (“to choose, gather”),[2] from Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to collect, gather”).[2] In Late Latin ēlēctiō also meant God's choice of a person for salvation.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The formal choosing of a person for an office or position: about 1270[6] or about 1300, both by one person and by a body of electors, and also the holding of a vote and its time and place.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English election also meant choice in general, from about 1400,[2] or 1393 in the OED.[6] The theological sense, God's choosing of some for eternal life, is from the late 14th century,[2] 1382 in the OED,[6] and is especially associated with Calvinist predestination.[7] The choice of members of a representative body by popular vote, as of the House of Commons, is from 1648.[6] Electioneer is a derivative.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1270 – choosing a person for an office.[6]
  • 1382 – God's choice of the saved.[6]
  • 1393 – choice in general.[6]
  • 1648 – a popular vote for a representative body.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The process of choosing a person for office by voting.
  2. The fact of being elected.
  3. The right or power to choose.
  4. (theology) God's choice of people for salvation; predestination.

Word family

  • by-election
  • electioneer
  • nonelection
  • postelection
  • preelection
  • reelection
  • subelection
  • election cake
  • elect
  • elective
  • elector
  • electoral
  • electorate
  • eligible
  • elite
  • select
  • collect

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Election.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/election. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·