Etymologically
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electorate

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 03:25. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ɪˈlɛktəɹət/, /ɪˈlɛktɹət/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English elector + -ate,[2][3][4][5] the noun elector coming from Latin ēlector (“chooser”), from ēligō (“to pick out, choose”).[3][2] Merriam-Webster derives it instead from French électorat, formed from the Medieval Latin form of the same noun and the French suffix -at.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The territory, jurisdiction or dignity of a German elector, one of the princes who chose the Holy Roman Emperor: Merriam-Webster dates this sense to 1620,[6] and the Shorter Oxford to the early 17th century.[4] The OED's first record is from 1675, in the London Gazette, for the dominions of an Elector,[3] and Etymonline gives the 1670s for "condition of being an elector", in reference to Germany.[2]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) still knew the word only as "the territory of an elector", quoting Addison.[7] The sense "the state or dignity of a German Elector" is recorded from 1827, in Hallam.[3] The modern sense, the whole body of voters, appears only in 1879, in T. P. O'Connor's life of Lord Beaconsfield.[3][2] In Australia and New Zealand the word also came to mean a district that elects a member of parliament, from 1866,[3] and the voters of such a constituency.[8][9][10]

Timeline

  • 1620 – the territory or dignity of a German elector (Merriam-Webster's date).[6]
  • 1675 – the dominions of an Elector, the OED's first record.[3]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it as the territory of an elector.[7]
  • 1827 – the state or dignity of a German Elector.[3]
  • 1866 – in Australia and New Zealand, a constituency.[3]
  • 1879 – the whole body of electors.[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. All the people entitled to vote in an election, in a country or a district: The governor took her case straight to the electorate.[11][8][6]
  2. (Australia, New Zealand) A district represented by one member of parliament; a constituency.[8][9][3]
  3. (Australia, New Zealand) The voters of such a district.[8][9]
  4. (historical) The rank, office or territory of an elector of the Holy Roman Empire.[11][8][6][3]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b c Moore, Bruce, ed. (2004), The Australian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd ed., Melbourne: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Deverson, Tony; Kennedy, Graeme, eds. (2005), The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary, Auckland: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin