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enfranchise - 5 dictionary results
en⋅fran⋅chise
[en-fran-chahyz]
–verb (used with object), -chised, -chis⋅ing.
| 1. | to grant a franchise to; admit to citizenship, esp. to the right of voting. |
| 2. | to endow (a city, constituency, etc.) with municipal or parliamentary rights. |
| 3. | to set free; liberate, as from slavery. |
Also, franchise.
Origin:
1505–15; < MF, OF enfranchiss- (long s. of enfranchir to free), equiv. to en- en- 1 + franch- free (see frank 1 ) + iss- -ish 2
1505–15; < MF, OF enfranchiss- (long s. of enfranchir to free), equiv. to en- en- 1 + franch- free (see frank 1 ) + iss- -ish 2

Related forms:
en⋅fran⋅chis⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To enfranchise
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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enfranchise
1531, from O.Fr. enfranchiss-, extended stem of enfranchir, from en- "make, put in" + franc "free" (see franchise).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: en·fran·chise
Pronunciation: in-'fran-"chIz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -chised; -chis·ing
: to grant franchise to; especially : to admit to the privileges of a citizen and esp. to voting rights
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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