Monday, July 4, 2011

Suffrage

Suffrage \SUHF-rij\ , noun;
1. The right to vote, especially in a political election
2. A vote given in favor of a proposed measure, candidate, or the like
3. In Christian practice, a prayer, especially a short intercessory prayer or petition

This word dates to the late 14th century as "prayers or pleas on behalf of another" from Old French suffrage, which derives from Middle Latin suffargium from Latin suffragium ("support, vote, right of voting"). Suffragium comes from suffragari ("lend support, vote for someone"), which is a combination of sub + fragor ("under" + "crash, din, shouts of approval"). Fragor is related to frangere ("to break"), which is the forebear of fraction. The meaning "right to vote" was first used used by the founding fathers in the US Constitution in 1787.

Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Monday, July 4
Etymologies come from the Oxford English Dictionary and/or Etymonline.com

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