FromOld Frenchenfranchir(“to set free, enfranchise”), fromen-(“in”) +franchir(“to set free”), equivalent toen- +franchise.
enfranchise (third-person singular simple presentenfranchises,present participleenfranchising,simple past and past participleenfranchised)
- (transitive) Togrant thefranchise to an entity, specifically:
- To grant the privilege ofvoting to a person or group of people.
- To grant municipal or parliamentary rights to an entity such as a city or constituency.
- To grantfreedom fromslavery,duty orservitude.
1842, [anonymous collaborator ofLetitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLVI, inLady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London:Henry Colburn, […],→OCLC,page288:Parental control had been so decisive in Louisa's case that marriage bonds had not hithertoenfranchised 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.
- (property law, England and Wales, historical) toconvert acopyholdestate into afreehold estate
to grant the privilege of voting
to grant municipal or parliamentary rights
to grant freedom from servitude
