Dictionary

electorate en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ɪˈlɛktəɹət/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɪˈlɛktɹət/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From elector (“person eligible to vote in an election; German prince entitled to elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire”) + -ate (forms nouns denoting a rank or office, the concrete charge of it).

Meanings

1. (collective) The collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote.
   • His cerebral candidacy, inspired by European and North American political and economic philosophers, and his very appearance, with his light-colored skin, trim physique and penchant for preppy sweaters, contrasted with an electorate largely made up of impoverished Quechua-speaking people and Spanish-speaking mestizos. 2025 April 13, Simon Romero, “Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel-Winning Peruvian Novelist, Dies at 89”, in The New York Times:
   • Incoming governments normally announce that they will seek to serve the whole electorate. Now, playing out in triplicate across the UK is a "divide and rule" approach to leadership, straight from Donald Trump's playbook: each faction consolidating its base, choosing an enemy and accusing opponents of treason in the hope that in a multiparty system they can win with a minority of votes. 2019 August 10, Gordon Brown, “The very idea of a United Kingdom is being torn apart by toxic nationalism”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Aug 2022:
   • The votes have been counted and the electorate has spoken.
2. (historical) The office, or area of dominion, of an Elector (“a German prince entitled to elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire”); an electorship.
   • […] Brandenburg, emerging around what would become Berlin, acquired distinct status as an electorate in the mid-fourteenth century. 2016, Peter H[amish] Wilson, “Lands”, in Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire, Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, →ISBN, part II (Belonging), page 187:
   • The line of demarcation [between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism] ran, as it still runs, through the midst of the Netherlands, of Germany, and of Switzerland, dividing province from province, electorate from electorate, and canton from canton. 1837 July, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Lord Bacon [Francis Bacon]. […]”, in Critical and Historical Essays, Contributed to the Edinburgh Review. […], 2nd edition, volume II, London: […] Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], published 1843, →OCLC, page 305:
   • [I]n case Hanover should be attacked on the ground of a German quarrel, unconnected with English politics, we were not bound to defend her; yet, if a power at war with England should think fit to consider that electorate as part of the king's dominions, which perhaps according to the law of nations might be done, our honour must require that it should be defended against such an attack. 1827, Henry Hallam, “On the Reign of William II”, in The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume II, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, footnote †, page 534:
3. (Australia, New-Zealand) A geographical area represented by one or more elected officials; a constituency, an electoral district.
   • The electorate of Finchley borders on the electorate of Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, splitting the new housing estate of Royal Cupolas.

Forms

Deriveds

selectorate · Electorate of the Palatinate · subelectorate

Relateds

elective · Elector · electorally · electively · elector · electee · electoral · electionary · elected · election · electing · electant · electional · elect · electorial · electioneering · electioneer · electable · electoral district

Synonyms

division · ward · seat · riding · constituency

Translations (68)

fi äänestäjäkunta (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · de Wähler (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sk elektorát (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · vi cử tri (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · ru электора́т (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sk voličstvo (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · nl kiezerspubliek (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · pt eleitorado (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · ka ელექტორატი (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · bg електора́т (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · es electorado (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · ca electorat (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · nl kiespubliek (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · cs elektorát (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · mk гласачи (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · ja 有権者 (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sh glasači (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · cs voličstvo (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · hy ընտրազանգված (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · cmn 選民 /选民 (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · uk електора́т (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · gl electorado (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · de Stimmvolk (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · el εκλογικό σώμα (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · mk електора́т (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · fi äänioikeutetut (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · fur eletorât (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · hi कार्यक्षेत्र (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · ru избира́тели (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · et elektoraat (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · uk курфю́рство (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · sk voliči (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · ro alegători (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · fi äänestäjät (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · pl elektorat (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · ko 유권자 (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · uk ви́борці (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · eo voĉdonantaro (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · fr électorat (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · hy էլեկտորատ (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sv väljarkår (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · fi elektoraatti (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · nl keurvorstendom (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · ka ამომრჩევლები (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · pt eleitorado (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · da kurfyrstendømme (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · eu hautesleria (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · cs voliči (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sh гласачи (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · is kjörfurstadæmi (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · sk kurfirststvo (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · be электара́т (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sv kurfurstendöme (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · it elettorato (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · ro electorat (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · la ēlectoratus (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sv väljare (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · el ελεκτοράτο (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · nl electoraat (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sv valmanskår (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · be вы́баршчыкі (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · pl elektorat (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · bar kuafiaschtndum (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · bg избира́тели (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · de Wählerschaft (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · de Kurfürstentum (office, or area of dominion, of an Elector) · sv valmannakår (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote) · sl volivci (collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote)

wikipedia: Holy Roman Empire