Electorships

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The status or tenure of individuals who have the right to vote in an election ; the collective body of voters eligible to participate in choosing representatives ; the condition or role of persons entitled to elect officials in a political process
2. The capacity or position of being an elector with the power to cast a ballot ; the group of citizens eligible for election participation ; the state of holding the right to vote in governmental or organizational elections
3. The designation given to those empowered to vote in an election ; the entire electorate that determines election outcomes ; the membership or collective holding of voting rights in an electoral system

Etymology: The plural of "electorship" is "electorships," so the root idea is the one carried by "electorship" itself: the condition, office, or standing of being an elector. The base word "elector" comes from Latin "elector," meaning one who chooses, from "eligere," to choose out. In English it has long named a person entitled to vote, most famously in the Holy Roman Empire, where the electors chose the emperor, and later in systems that use electoral colleges. The ending does most of the work here. "-ship" descends from an Old English noun "-scipe," which meant something like shape, condition, or state, and it survives in words like "friendship" and "kingship." Attaching it to "elector" produces a noun for the status or position of an elector. The plural form simply counts multiple such statuses, as when the term refers to several separate offices or memberships held in different domains.

Synonyms: electoral offices, votes