Enfranchiser

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. One who grants the rights of citizenship or voting privileges to individuals or groups
2. a person or organization that removes restrictions on participation in a political process
3. someone who empowers others by extending their legal rights and obligations

Etymology: "Enfranchiser" is simply "enfranchise" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, so it names the person or thing that does the enfranchising. The verb "enfranchise" comes from Old French "enfranchiss-", a stem of "enfranchir", meaning to free or set at liberty, built from "en-" and "franc" ("free"). That same "franc" root lies behind "frank" and "franchise," so the noun's core idea has always been release from bondage or restriction. Its sense has shifted over time. Originally, to enfranchise meant to free a serf or slave; later it came to mean granting the right to vote or citizenship, which is why the noun now points to someone who extends legal rights and obligations to others.

Synonyms: liberator, emancipator