Elected

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɪˈlɛktɪd/

Definitions

1. Appointed to a position of authority or responsibility after receiving the approval of voters
2. Chosen for a specific role or office through a voting process that reflects the will of the electorate
3. Chosen for a position or role following a process in which voters express their preferences through a democratic vote

Etymology: "Elected" is the past tense and past participle of "elect," and the verb's ancestry runs back to a Latin compound meaning "to pick out." Latin "ēligō" combined "ē," meaning "out," with "legō," meaning "to pick out, pick, gather, collect." The past participle "ēlēctus" gave English its "elect," so the act of voting someone into office is, at root, the act of picking something out of a group. That same Latin root also gave English the word "eclectic," though the two took different routes. "Eclectic" came through Ancient Greek, where the prefix was "ek" rather than the Latin "ē" or "ex," so the two words are cousins that arrived by separate paths. Both trace their shared heart to the idea of selection, with "eclectic" meaning someone who picks from many sources and "elected" meaning someone who has been picked from a group of candidates.

Synonyms: chosen, selected, appointed, designated, picked

Antonyms: dismissed, fired, rejected, disqualified, excluded