suffrage

Meaning

Noun

• The right or chance to vote, express an opinion, or participate in a decision, especially in a democratic elections.
• A vote in deciding a particular question.
• A prayer, for example a prayer offered for the faithful dead.
• A short petition, as those after the creed in matins and evensong.
• Aid, intercession.
• Testimony; attestation; witness; approval.

Related

Similar words

• franchise

Origin

• From Middle English suffrage ("prayers or pleas on behalf of another"), from Old French, from Medieval Latin suffragium, from Latin suffragium ("support, vote, right of voting"). The sense of "vote" or "right to vote" was directly derived from classical Latin.