voter English · revision 7869

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1578}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvəʊtə(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''; /ˈvoʊtɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an agent noun formed [[af|en|vote|-er]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One who has a legal right to vote, an elector: before 1578 in the OED, the 1570s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ One who gives a vote is from 1647 in HTOED.^(HTOED) One bound by an oath or vow was a rare sense of 1621–60, now obsolete.^(HTOED)^(OED 1989) ''Voter registration'' and similar attributive uses are American from 1960.^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1578 – an elector.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1621–60 – one bound by a vow (obsolete).^(HTOED)

+ * 1647 – one who votes.^(HTOED)

+ * 1960 – voter registration (US).^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who [[vote|alt=votes]], or who has the right to vote, especially in a political [[election]].^(AHD 2000)^(Collins 2023)^(LDOCE 2009)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonvoter]]

+ * [[votress]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vote]]

+ * [[votive]]

+ * [[vow]]

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}