veto

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈviːtəʊ/ (UK); /ˈvi.toʊ/, /ˈviˌtoʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin vetō (“I forbid”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the first person singular present indicative of vetāre “to forbid”, a verb of unknown origin.^[2][3][4][5] The Roman tribunes of the people used the word when opposing measures of the Senate or the magistrates.^[3][4][7][8] Like memento and caveat, it is an inflected Latin verb taken over as an English base.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A prohibition intended to prevent a proposed act, or the power of preventing it (1629).^[9][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The specific political sense, the act of a competent person or body blocking legislation, is recorded from 1759,^[9][6] especially a chief executive's rejection of a bill passed by the legislature.^[4][2][5] By 1792 the word was extended to any authoritative power of forbidding.^[4] The verb dates from 1706, first of legislative measures,^[9][3][4][5] and from 1879 in general use.^[9] The pocket veto is an American term for a president's or governor's veto by retaining a bill unsigned at the end of a session, first used by Andrew Jackson.^[8] Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were called Monsieur and Madame Veto for vetoing many decrees of the Constituent Assembly in 1791.^[8]

Timeline

• 1629 – noun, a prohibition.^[9][3][5]
• 1706 – verb, to veto a legislative measure.^[9][3][5]
• 1759 – the political act of blocking legislation.^[9]
• 1792 – any power of forbidding.^[4]
• 1879 – verb, in general use.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The constitutional right of one branch of government to reject the decisions of another, especially a chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by the legislature.
2. The exercise of this right, or the document setting out the reasons for it.
3. A vote by which one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council can block a decision.
4. An authoritative prohibition or rejection; an interdiction.

Verb

1. To prevent a bill from becoming law by exercising the power of veto.
2. To forbid or refuse to approve authoritatively.

Word family

• vetoer
• unvetoed
• reveto
• liberum veto
• line-item veto
• pocket veto

Related words

• caveat
• memento
• tribune

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
9. ^ 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