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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

en·fran·chise

Audio Help [en-fran-chahyz] Pronunciation Key

–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 frank¹) + iss- -ish²

]

—Related forms

en·fran·chise·ment

Audio Help [en-fran-chahyz-muh

nt, -chiz-] Pronunciation Key, noun

en·fran·chis·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
enfranchise

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

en·fran·chise Audio Help (ěn-frān'chīz') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. en·fran·chised, en·fran·chis·ing, en·fran·chis·es

To bestow a franchise on.
To endow with the rights of citizenship, especially the right to vote.
To free, as from bondage.

[Middle English enfraunchisen, from Old French enfranchir, enfranchiss-, to set free : en-, intensive pref.; see en-¹ + franchir (from franc, free; see frank¹).]

en·fran'chise'ment n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
enfranchise

1531, from O.Fr. enfranchiss-, extended stem of enfranchir, from en- "make, put in" + franc "free" (see franchise).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

enfranchise
verb
1.	grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude; "Slaves were enfranchised in the mid-19th century" [syn: affranchise]
2.	grant voting rights [ant: disenfranchise]

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

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 <the Twenty-sixth Amendment enfranchised all citizens over 18 years of age> —compare EMANCIPATE

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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