Redistrict

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹiːˈdɪstɹɪkt/

Definitions

1. To make changes to the geographical boundaries that determine electoral districts and voting jurisdictions
2. To alter the limits of electoral districts in order to redefine political representation and voting areas
3. To redefine the geographic lines that establish electoral areas for voting purposes

Etymology: "Redistrict" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "anew," attached to "district." The prefix comes from Latin "re-," which passed into English through Old French and Middle English, so the verb is simply "district" done over again. "District" itself comes from Medieval Latin "districtus," a jurisdiction where a lord's legal power applied, related to "distringere," "to stretch out" or "to restrain." The word's modern sense is narrower than its parts suggest. Districts were originally areas of legal authority rather than lines on a map, and redrawing them means reassigning which voters belong to which electoral area. The verb describes that administrative act of redrawing boundaries, not a change to the districts' legal powers.

Synonyms: rezone, reapportion, reorganize