vote

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /vəʊt/, US /voʊt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English vote, first Scots,^[2][3] borrowed from Latin vōtum (“a vow, wish, promise, dedication”),^[4][5][6] the noun use of the neuter of vōtus, past participle of voveō (“to promise, dedicate”).^[4][5][7] It is a doublet of vow,^[5][4] and the same Latin word gave votive, devout and devotion.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A vow or wish: probably before 1300.^[5] The OED's earliest quotations, in Scots, are from 1533.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a formal expression of one's wish or choice on a proposal or candidate is from the mid-15th century,^[4] first in Scots.^[9][3] The verb meant “to vow” in the mid-15th century;^[4] “to give one's vote” is from the 1550s^[4] or 1552,^[9][10] and “to enact by vote” from the 1560s.^[4] “An ardent wish” was common in 1630–60 and is now obsolete.^[9] A ballot, the means of voting, is by 1817, and the votes of a class collectively, as in the farm vote, by 1888.^[4] Vote with one's feet is from 1965.^[9]

Timeline

• before 1300 – a vow.^[5]
• mid-15th century – an expression of choice.^[4]
• 1552 – verb, to vote.^[9]
• 1817 – a ballot.^[4]
• 1888 – a body of voters.^[4]
• 1965 – vote with one's feet.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A formal expression of preference for a candidate or on an issue.
2. The means of expressing it, such as a ballot or raised hand; the right to vote.
3. The number of votes cast; a group of voters: the youth vote.

Verb

1. To express one's preference in a vote; to cast a vote.
2. To decide, elect or enact by vote.
3. To declare by general consent.

Word family

• votable
• voter
• revote
• voteless
• vote-getter
• outvote
• prevote
• unvoted

Related words

• vow
• votive
• devote
• devout
• devotion

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster