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gerrymander

Etymology and origin of the English word gerrymander

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɛɹiˌmændə/ (UK); /ˈd͡ʒɛɹiˌmændəɹ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is a blend of the surname of Elbridge Gerry, governor of Massachusetts, and salamander,[2][3][4][5][6] because an election district created by his party in 1812 was thought to look like a salamander.[2][3][4][5][6] The redistricting was meant to preserve an Antifederalist majority, and one sprawling Essex County district was caricatured as a monster called the Gerrymander.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The arrangement of electoral districts to give one party an unfair advantage; as a verb, to arrange districts in this way.[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Gerry's name was pronounced with a hard g, but the word is now usually said with a soft one.[2][5] The verb is also used of manipulating other boundaries or systems for unfair advantage.[7][5][1]

Timeline

  • 1812 – noun and verb.[3][4][7][5]
  • 1813 – the Massachusetts Spy counts “eleven gerrymanders” among the elected senators.[2]
  • 1848 – gerrymandered, gerrymandering.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To divide an area into voting districts so as to give one party an unfair advantage.
  2. To divide an area into other kinds of districts so as to favour a particular group.

Noun

  1. The act or practice of gerrymandering.
  2. A district or pattern of districts shaped by gerrymandering.

Word family

  • gerrymanderer
  • salamander

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Gerrymander.” Etymologically, 9 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/gerrymander. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .