Franchise /(? [or] ?; 277)/

Fran·chise

Franchise

n.
  1. Exemption from constraint or oppression; freedom; liberty. [Obs.]
  2. A particular privilege conferred by grant from a sovereign or a government, and vested in individuals; an immunity or exemption from ordinary jurisdiction; a constitutional or statutory right or privilege, esp. the right to vote. (LAw)
    Election by universal suffrage, as modified by the Constitution, is the one crowning franchise of the American people.
    — W. H. Seward.
  3. The district or jurisdiction to which a particular privilege extends; the limits of an immunity; hence, an asylum or sanctuary.
    Churches and mobasteries in Spain are franchises for criminals.
  4. Magnanimity; generosity; liberality; frankness; nobility. [Obs.]

Phrases & Compounds
Elective franchise
the privilege or right of voting in an election of public officers.

Franchise

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Franchised; p. pr. & vb. n. Franchising

  1. To make free; to enfranchise; to give liberty to.