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plébiscite

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Etymology and origin of the French word plébiscite

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1355 Bersuire, translation of Livy More words from the 14th century
Borrowed from
Latin plebiscitum
Ultimate origin
Latin plēbiscītum
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin plēbs
Italian pieve
Latin plēbiscītum
French plébiscite
English plebiscite
From the same root
Latin plēbēius ← plēbs
Latin plēbicola ← plēbs

Pronunciation

  • /ple.bi.sit/[1]

Forms

plébiscite m (plural plébiscites)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin plēbiscītum (“decree of the common people”), borrowed together with plèbe;[2][3][1] the Latin word was opposed to senātūs cōnsultum (“decree of the senate”).[2][3] It is the fusion of plēbis scītum, made of plēbs (“common people”) in the genitive and scītum (“decree”),[3][4][5] formed from the supine of scīscō (“to approve, decide”), first “to seek to know”,[2][3] itself from sciō (“to know”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bersuire uses it about 1355, in his translation of Livy, as a term of Roman history: Plebiscite estoit apelé aucun establissement que le menu plebe fesoit en sa court par ses tribuns “a plebiscite was the name of an ordinance that the common people made in their assembly through their tribunes”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

After Bersuire the word was rare, and it is in regular use only from 1721, when the Trévoux dictionary records it;[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg date it 1743.[6] In 1776 Voltaire used it both of ancient Rome and of the laws made by the citizens themselves in Geneva, Basel and the small Swiss cantons.[2][3] English plebiscite in its modern sense (1852) comes from this French usage.[7]

The modern sense, a direct vote of the electorate by yes or no on a proposal, is found in Proudhon in 1843;[2][3] it entered the political language with the plebiscite of 1852, which made Louis Bonaparte president for ten years and then emperor.[6][5] Hence the word's special sense of a vote of confidence in a person who has taken power,[8][3] and its two derivatives, plébiscitaire (1870) and plébisciter (1894), which also means to approve by a large majority.[3][2] In international law it names a vote by which a population decides its own status (1936, Capitant).[4][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1355 – Bersuire uses it in his translation of Livy.[2][5]
  • 1721 – The Trévoux dictionary records it.[2][3]
  • 1776 – Voltaire applies it to the laws voted by the citizens of Geneva and Basel.[2][3]
  • 1843 – Proudhon uses it for a direct yes-or-no vote of the electorate.[2]
  • 1852 – The plebiscite on Louis Bonaparte brings it into the political vocabulary.[6][5]
  • 1852 – English adopts plebiscite in this sense, first with reference to France.[7]
  • 1870 – Plébiscitaire is recorded.[2][3]
  • 1894 – Plébisciter is recorded.[3]
  • 1936 – Capitant defines its sense in international law.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Roman history) A law voted by the plebs assembled on the proposal of a tribune.[2][8][4]
  2. (dated) A direct vote of the whole electorate by yes or no on a question put to it; a référendum.[8][2]
  3. A direct vote by which the electorate expresses its confidence in the person who has taken power.[8][3]
  4. (figurative) A massive approval.[2][8]
  5. (international law) A vote by which a population decides its international status.[8][4]

Word family

  • plébiscitaire
  • plébisciter

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Plébiscite.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/pl%C3%A9biscite. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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