référendum

Forms

référendum m (plural référendums or référenda)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin referendum (“for referring”), taken from the phrase ad referendum (“for reporting back”), found in French from 1750.^[2][3][4] The Latin word is the gerund of referō (“to bring back, report”), the source of référer.^[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1781, in Linguet's Annales politiques, civiles et littéraires, for a request for consultation in legal proceedings.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In diplomacy, prendre quelque chose ad referendum (1859–1863) was said of an envoy who would refer a matter to those he represented before committing himself, and referendum was used for the diplomatic dispatch asking for instructions (1878).^[2][4]

The political sense, a vote of all the electors on a law, came in 1874 from the Swiss constitution;^[2][4][3] during the Revolution, the French had said appel au peuple for this.^[2] Bloch and Wartburg note that it was spelled referendum without accents until about 1950, except in Switzerland, where the referendum had long been a constitutional institution,^[5] and the Petit Robert notes that it appears in no French constitution before that of 1946.^[6] By extension it has meant, since 1923, a consultation of all the members of a group.^[2][7][4]

Timeline

• 1750 – The Latin phrase ad referendum is used by d'Argenson.^[2]
• 1781 – Linguet uses referendum for a request for consultation.^[2][3]
• 1859 – Ad referendum is recorded as a diplomatic term.^[2][4]
• 1874 – It is used of the popular vote on laws in the Swiss constitution.^[2][4]
• 1923 – Larousse records it for a consultation of the members of a group.^[2][7]
• 1946 – The French constitution provides for it.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A referendum: a direct vote of all the citizens to approve or reject a measure, a law or a constitutional change: Le gouvernement a soumis la réforme à référendum.^[6][8][1]
2. (Switzerland) Référendum d'initiative populaire: a vote on a law proposed by a set number of citizens.^[6]
3. By extension, a consultation of all the members of a group on a question concerning them.^[8][2][4]
4. (diplomacy) A dispatch in which an envoy asks his government for instructions.^[4][2]

Related words

• référer
• plébiscite
• Latin referō

Usage notes

The plural is référendums;^[8][1] Wiktionary also gives the Latin plural référenda.^[8][1] The spelling without accents, referendum, is still found.^[6][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)