From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Suffrage \Suf"frage\, noun [F., fr. L. suffragium; perhaps originally, a broken piece, a potsherd, used in voting, and fr. sub under + the root of frangere to break. See {Break}.]
1. A vote given in deciding a controverted question, or in the choice of a man for an office or trust; the formal expression of an opinion; assent; vote.
I ask your voices and your suffrages. --Shak.
2. Testimony; attestation; witness; approval.
Lactantius and St. Austin confirm by their suffrage the observation made by heathen writers. --Atterbury.
Every miracle is the suffrage of Heaven to the truth of a doctrine. --South.
3. (Eccl.) (a) A short petition, as those after the creed in matins and evensong. (b) A prayer in general, as one offered for the faithful departed. --Shipley.
I firmly believe that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful. --Creed of Pope Pius IV.
4. Aid; assistance. [A Latinism] [Obs.]
5. The right to vote; franchise. [PJC]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Suffrage \Suf"frage\, verb (used with an object) To vote for; to elect. [Obs.] --Milton.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a legal right guaranteed by the 15th amendment to the US constitution; guaranteed to women by the 19th amendment; "American women got the vote in 1920" [syn: {right to vote}, {vote}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
83 Moby Thesaurus words for "suffrage": Australian ballot, Hare system, association, aye, ballot, canvass, canvassing, casting vote, choice, cochairmanship, complicity, condominium, contribution, copartnership, copartnery, cotenancy, counting heads, cumulative voting, deciding vote, division, enfranchisement, engagement, fagot vote, female suffrage, franchise, graveyard vote, hand vote, having a part, household franchise, involvement, joint chairmanship, joint control, joint ownership, joint tenancy, list system, manhood suffrage, nay, no, nontransferable vote, option, partaking, participation, partnership, plebiscite, plebiscitum, plumper, plural vote, poll, polling, preferential voting, proportional representation, proxy, record vote, referendum, representation, right to vote, rising vote, say, secret ballot, sharing, show of hands, single vote, snap vote, straw vote, suffragette, suffragettism, suffragism, suffragist, the vote, transferable vote, universal suffrage, viva voce, voice, voice vote, vote, voting, voting right, woman-suffragist, write-in, write-in vote, yea, yeas and nays, yes
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
SUFFRAGE, noun Expression of opinion by means of a ballot. The right of suffrage (which is held to be both a privilege and a duty) means, as commonly interpreted, the right to vote for the man of another man's choice, and is highly prized. Refusal to do so has the bad name of "incivism." The incivilian, however, cannot be properly arraigned for his crime, for there is no legitimate accuser. If the accuser is himself guilty he has no standing in the court of opinion; if not, he profits by the crime, for A's abstention from voting gives greater weight to the vote of B. By female suffrage is meant the right of a woman to vote as some man tells her to. It is based on female responsibility, which is somewhat limited. The woman most eager to jump out of her petticoat to assert her rights is first to jump back into it when threatened with a switching for misusing them.
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0