noun
Meaning 1
The act of gerrymandering.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
gerrymander
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɛɹiˌmændə/
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Received-Pronunciation, rare: /ˈɡɛɹi-/
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General-American: /ˈd͡ʒɛɹiˌmændəɹ/
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General-American, rare: /ˈɡɛɹi-/
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General-American: [-mɛən-] /æ/ raising
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California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian: /ˈd͡ʒeɹiˌmændə/
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Australian, rare: /ˈɡeɹi-/
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Australian: [-meːn-] /æ/ raising
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Queensland Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛɹimændə(ɹ)
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CMU ARPABET: JH EH1 R IY0 M AE2 N D ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A voting district skewed by gerrymandering.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory
Examples
- Any citizen looking at a map of district 12 could immediately tell that it was a gerrymander because of the ridiculous way it cut across four counties while carving up neighborhoods in half.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Obsolete form of gerrymander.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To divide a geographic area into voting districts in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to one party in an election.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To draw dividing lines for other types of districts in an unintuitive way to favor a particular group or for other perceived gain.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, derogatory, transitive
Examples
- The superintendent helped gerrymander the school district lines in order to keep the children of the wealthy gated community in the better school all the way across town.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To change the franchise or voting system in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to one party in an election.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, derogatory, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
To deliberately bring in voters of one's own party or displace voters of another party from a voting district in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to one party in an election.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, UK, broadly, derogatory, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 8
Obsolete form of gerrymander.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 9
an act of gerrymandering (dividing a voting area so as to give your own party an unfair advantage)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: cheat, cheating
verb
Meaning 10
divide unfairly and to one's advantage; of voting districts
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: separate, divide, part
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵhey- Proto-Indo-European *ǵheys- Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *ǵhoysós Proto-Germanic *gaizaz Proto-Indo-European *h2welh1- Proto-Indo-European *h2wl̥h1-t- Proto-Germanic *wulþǭder.? Proto-Indo-European *welH-der. Proto-Indo-European *wélH-dhe-tider. Proto-Indo-European *we-wólH-dhe-ti? Proto-Germanic *waldanąder. Proto-Germanic *waldaz Proto-Germanic *Gaizawaldaz Frankish *Gaiʀawaldbor. Old French Geraldbor. English Gerald ▲ Proto-Germanic *gaizaz Proto-West Germanic *gaiʀ Proto-Indo-European *kret-der.? Proto-Germanic *harduz Proto-Germanic *-jaz Proto-West Germanic *-ī Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī) Frankish *Gaiʀahardbor. Old French Gerartder. Middle English Gerard English Gerard Proto-Germanic *-j-, *-ij- Proto-West Germanic *-i, *-ī Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English Gerry Ancient Greek σαλαμάνδρα (salamándra)bor. Latin salamandra Anglo-Norman salamandrebor. Middle English salamandre English salamander blend English gerrymander Blend of Gerry + salamander, named after Elbridge Gerry, then governor of Massachusetts. Coined by the editors of the Boston Gazette in an 26 March 1812 article comparing the new electoral district boundary signed into law by Gerry to the shape of the mythological salamander. The original text was likely written by Nathan Hale and Benjamin and John Russell, accompanying a cartoon by Elkanah Tisdale. Despite Gerry's surname beginning with a hard G (/ɡ/), gerrymander is typically pronounced with a soft G (/dʒ/), as a spelling pronunciation.
Across languages
Translations
20 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Afrikaans: afbakeningsknoeiery — the act of gerrymandering
- Chinese Mandarin: 傑利蠑螈 /杰利蝾螈 (Jiélì róngyuán) — the act of gerrymandering
- Dutch: kiesrechtgeografie — the act of gerrymandering
- Estonian: valijavalimine — the act of gerrymandering
- Finnish: gerrymanderointi — the act of gerrymandering
- French: charcutage électoral — the act of gerrymandering
- Georgian: ჯერიმანდერინგი (ǯerimanderingi) — the act of gerrymandering
- German: Gerrymandering — the act of gerrymandering
- German: Wahlkreisschiebung — the act of gerrymandering
- German: Neuzuschnitt — the act of gerrymandering
- Hungarian: választókerület-manipuláció — the act of gerrymandering
- Hungarian: választókerület-határok manipulációja/átrajzolása — the act of gerrymandering
- Icelandic: kjördæmahagræðing — the act of gerrymandering
- Polish: gerrymandering — the act of gerrymandering
- Portuguese: manipulação eleitoral — the act of gerrymandering
- Russian: предвы́борные махина́ции (predvýbornyje maxinácii) — the act of gerrymandering
- Spanish: arreglo de distritos electorales — the act of gerrymandering
- Welsh: cyffindwyllo — the act of gerrymandering
- Hungarian: manipulált választókerület (határú) — a voting district skewed by gerrymandering
- Polish: okręg wyborczy poddany gerrymanderingowi — a voting district skewed by gerrymandering