Standard Lemma guide

suffrage

noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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.

  • General-American, UK: /ˈsʌfɹɪd͡ʒ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH1 F R IH0 JH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The right or chance to vote, express an opinion, or participate in a decision, especially in a democratic election.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • universal suffrage, women's suffrage, negro suffrage

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The right or chance to vote, express an opinion, or participate in a decision, especially in a democratic election.

The right of women to vote.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A vote in deciding a particular question.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A prayer, for example a prayer offered for the faithful dead.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, usually

Topics: Christianity

Examples

  • 1564, Pope Pius IV (unknown translator), Creed of Pope Pius IV I firmly believe that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A short petition, as those after the creed in matins and evensong.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, usually

Topics: Christianity

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Aid, intercession.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Testimony; attestation; witness; approval.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

a legal right guaranteed by the 15th amendment to the US Constitution; guaranteed to women by the 19th amendment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • American women got the vote in 1920

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: right to vote, vote

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: franchise, enfranchisement

Narrower terms: universal suffrage

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub- Proto-Indo-European *bhreg-der.? Latin suffrāgō Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Classical Latin suffrāgiumbor. Old French suffrage Middle French suffragebor. ▲ Classical Latin suffrāgiumlbor. Middle English suffrage English suffrage 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”). The sense of "vote" or "right to vote" was directly derived from Classical Latin.

Across languages

Translations

46 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: ձայնի իրավունք (jayni iravunkʻ) — the right to vote
  • Azerbaijani: seçki hüququ — the right to vote
  • Bengali: ভোটাধিকার (bhōṭadhikar) — the right to vote
  • Bulgarian: избирателно право (izbiratelno pravo) — the right to vote
  • Catalan: sufragi — the right to vote
  • Chinese Mandarin: 選舉權 /选举权 (xuǎnjǔquán) — the right to vote
  • Chinese Mandarin: 投票權 /投票权 (tóupiàoquán) — the right to vote
  • Crimean Tatar: saylav aqqı — the right to vote
  • Czech: volební právo — the right to vote
  • Danish: stemmeret — the right to vote
  • Danish: valgret — the right to vote
  • Dutch: kiesrecht — the right to vote
  • Dutch: stemrecht — the right to vote
  • Finnish: äänioikeus — the right to vote
  • French: suffrage — the right to vote
  • Galician: sufraxio — the right to vote
  • German: Stimmrecht — the right to vote
  • German: Wahlrecht — the right to vote
  • Greek: δικαίωμα ψήφου (dikaíoma psífou) — the right to vote
  • Hungarian: választójog — the right to vote
  • Icelandic: atkvæðisréttur — the right to vote
  • Icelandic: kosningaréttur — the right to vote
  • Indonesian: hak pilih — the right to vote
  • Indonesian: hak suara — the right to vote
  • Italian: suffragio — the right to vote
  • Japanese: 選挙権 (senkyoken) — the right to vote
  • Kalmyk: суңһврин зөв (suñğvrin zöv) — the right to vote
  • Korean: 선거권 (seon'geogwon) — the right to vote
  • Macedonian: право на глас (pravo na glas) — the right to vote
  • Malay: hak undi — the right to vote
  • Malay: hak pilih — the right to vote
  • Māori: manapōti — the right to vote
  • Norwegian: stemmerett — the right to vote
  • Polish: prawo wybierania — the right to vote
  • Polish: czynne prawo wyborcze — the right to vote
  • Polish: prawo do głosowania — the right to vote
  • Portuguese: sufrágio — the right to vote
  • Romanian: sufragiu — the right to vote
  • Russian: избира́тельное пра́во (izbirátelʹnoje právo) — the right to vote
  • Russian: пра́во го́лоса (právo gólosa) — the right to vote
  • Spanish: sufragio — the right to vote
  • Swedish: rösträtt — the right to vote
  • Tamil: ஓட்டுரிமை (ōṭṭurimai) — the right to vote
  • Tamil: வாக்குரிமை (vākkurimai) — the right to vote
  • Turkish: oy hakkı — the right to vote
  • Turkish: süfraj — the right to vote
Real reading context

suffrage in complete knowledge articles