ENFRANCHISE DEFINITIONS - 8 definitions found
enfranchise v 1: grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude; "Slaves were enfranchised in the mid-19th century" [syn: affranchise, enfranchise] 2: grant voting rights [ant: disenfranchise, disfranchise] enfranchise 1531, from O.Fr. enfranchiss-, extended stem of enfranchir, from en- "make, put in" + franc "free" (see franchise). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) enfranchise transitive verb (-chised; -chising) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French enfranchiss-, stem of enfranchir, from en- + franc free — more at frank Date: 15th century 1. to set free (as from slavery) 2. to endow with a franchise: as a. to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to the right of suffrage b. to admit (a municipality) to political privileges or rights • enfranchisement noun Oxford English Reference Dictionary
English Explanatory Dictionary enfranchise ɪnˈfræntʃaɪz v.tr. 1 give (a person) the right to vote. 2 give (a town) municipal rights, esp. that of representation in parliament. 3 hist. free (a slave, villein, etc.). øøenfranchisement n. [OF enfranchir (as EN-(1), franc franche FRANK)] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Enfranchise \En*fran"chise\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Enfranchised; p. pr. & vb. n. Enfranchising.] [Pref. en- + franchise: cf. F. enfranchir.] 1. To set free; to liberate from slavery, prison, or any binding power. --Bacon. 2. To endow with a franchise; to incorporate into a body politic and thus to invest with civil and political privileges; to admit to the privileges of a freeman. 3. To receive as denizens; to naturalize; as, to enfranchise foreign words. --I. Watts. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms enfranchise v. a. 1. Admit as a free man, endow with a franchise. 2. Free, emancipate, manumit, release, set free, make free, restore to liberty. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 32 Moby Thesaurus words for "enfranchise": affranchise, authorize, certificate, certify, charter, deliver, disenthrall, emancipate, empower, enable, entitle, extricate, franchise, free, give official sanction, give power, legalize, legitimize, liberate, license, manumit, patent, privilege, ratify, release, rescue, sanction, set at large, set at liberty, set free, validate, warrant |
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