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suffrage

Etymology and origin of the English word suffrage

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Latin suffragium
English suffrage

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsʌfɹɪd͡ʒ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English suffrage, borrowed from Old French suffrage,[2][3][4][5] from Medieval Latin suffrāgium,[2][3][4][5] from Latin suffrāgium (“support; vote; right of voting”),[2][3][4][5][6] from suffrāgārī “to express support, to vote for”.[2][3][4][5] The Latin word is of uncertain origin;[4] it may be from sub- and fragor “crash, din, shouts of approval”, related to frangere “to break”.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Prayers, especially intercessory prayers on behalf of another (before 1200 in Barnhart; c. 1380 in the OED).[3][7][4]

Semantic evolution

The Latin sense of a vote given in favour of a proposal or candidate entered English in 1534.[7][3] The meaning “the right to vote” is first found in the United States Constitution of 1787,[3] and universal suffrage dates from 1798.[3] The campaign for women's votes produced suffragette (1906),[3][4] which Weekley suggests was formed on the model of French midinette.[4] The religious sense survives in the short petitions of liturgy.[2][5][6]

Timeline

  • before 1200 – intercessory prayers (Barnhart).[3]
  • c. 1380 – prayers, intercessions.[7]
  • 1534 – a vote.[7][3]
  • 1787 – the right to vote.[3]
  • 1798 – universal suffrage.[3]
  • 1906 – suffragette.[3][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The right or privilege of voting; the franchise; also, the exercise of this right.
  2. A vote cast in deciding a question or electing a person to office.
  3. (ecclesiastical) A short intercessory prayer.

Word family

  • universal suffrage
  • suffragist
  • suffragette
  • suffragan
  • franchise

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Suffrage.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/suffrage. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·