Meanings
present singular third person enfranchises · participle present enfranchising · participle past enfranchised · past enfranchised
- To grant the franchise to an entity.
- transitiveTo grant municipal or parliamentary rights to an entity such as a city or constituency.
Synonyms: effranchise
- transitiveTo grant freedom from slavery, duty or servitude.
1 more example
Parental control had been so decisive in Louisa's case that marriage bonds had not hitherto enfranchised her from the former; she, therefore, at the proper time of light, appeared on the arm of Signor Riccardini, and laid her purse on the lap of her mother (who she knew had at least three hundred pounds in possession), at the risk of being deemed extravagant by her husband.
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLVI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 288Synonyms: effranchise
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo grant the privilege of voting to a person or group of people.
verbTo grant municipal or parliamentary rights to an entity such as a city or constituency.
verbTo grant freedom from slavery, duty or servitude.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
- Proto-Italic*en
- Proto-Italic*en-
- Latinin-
- Old Frenchen-
- Proto-Germanic*frankô
- Frankish*Frankō
- Latinfrancus
- Old Frenchfranc
- Old Frenchfranchir
- Old Frenchenfranchir
- Anglo-Normanenfrauncher
- Middle Englishenfraunchisen
- Englishenfranchise
From Late Middle English enfraunchisen, enfrauncheisen (“to grant (someone) citizenship; to grant (someone) membership of a guild, etc.; to grant (a town) privileges”), from enfranchiss-, a stem of Anglo-Norman enfrauncher and its etymon Old French enfranchir (“to set free, enfranchise”), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + franchir (“to set free”) (from franc (“free”, adjective) + -ir (suffix forming infinitives of second-conjugation verbs)). Franc is derived from Medieval Latin francus (“free”, adjective), from Francus (“(adjective) of or relating to the Franks, Frankish; (noun) Frankish person, Frank”) (as full freedom was only possessed by people of the dominant Frankish group in Gaul), from Frankish *Frankō (“Frankish person, Frank”), probably from Proto-Germanic *frankô (“javelin”) (probably the weapon commonly used by the Franks), further etymology unknown. By surface analysis, en- + franchise.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch stemrecht verlenen, stadsrecht verlenen
- stemrecht verlenento grant the privilege of voting
- stadsrecht verlenento grant municipal or parliamentary rights
- bevrijden van slavernijto grant freedom from servitude
Finnish antaa äänioikeus, myöntää kaupunkioikeudet
- antaa äänioikeusto grant the privilege of voting
- myöntää kaupunkioikeudetto grant municipal or parliamentary rights
- perustaa vaalipiirito grant municipal or parliamentary rights
- vapauttaato grant freedom from servitude
Hungarian felszabadít
- felszabadítto grant freedom from servitude
Russian дава́ть избира́тельное пра́во, освобожда́ть
- дава́ть избира́тельное пра́во (davátʹ izbirátelʹnoje právo)to grant the privilege of voting
- освобожда́ть (osvoboždátʹ)to grant freedom from servitude
- освободи́ть (osvobodítʹ)to grant freedom from servitude
Spanish enfranquecer
- enfranquecerto grant freedom from servitude
Swedish ge rösträtt, ge stadsprivilegier
- ge rösträttto grant the privilege of voting
- ge stadsprivilegierto grant municipal or parliamentary rights
- ge stadsrättigheterto grant municipal or parliamentary rights
- befriato grant freedom from servitude
- frigeto grant freedom from servitude
Cite this entry
enfranchise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enfranchise
“enfranchise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enfranchise. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enfranchise,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enfranchise.
Source: enfranchise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.