Added 9 October 2026
suffrage
/ˈsʌfɹɪd͡ʒ/ noun
Latin root: suffrāgium Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about suffrage at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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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
Origin
From Middle English suffrage (“prayers or pleas on behalf of another”), from Middle French suffrage (from Old French suffrage) and its etymon Classical Latin suffrāgium (“support, vote, right of voting”). Not related to suffer. The sense of "vote" or "right to vote" was directly derived from Classical Latin.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)