Word for Wednesday: Election

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The word election describes a formal vote that takes place in order to select someone for a political office or other position. From tomorrow until May 26th, all 28 Member States of the European Union will be holding elections to the European Parliament.  You can find the full Spellzone dictionary definition of election here. 

Election is one of many examples that demonstrates how connected English is to other languages from Europe and the rest of the world. It first appeared in English around 1300 from the Anglo-French ‘eleccioun’, which in turn came from the Old French ‘elecion’ meaning ‘choice’ or ‘selection’. ‘Elecion’ comes from the Latin ‘eligere’ meaning ‘pick out’ or ‘select’. 

Can you think of any other words that entered English via European languages? 
 


22 May 2019
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