Plebiscite

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Plebiscite \Pleb"i*scite\, n. [F. pl['e]biscite, fr. L.
     plebiscitum.]
     A vote by universal male suffrage; especially, in France, a
     popular vote, as first sanctioned by the National
     Constitution of 1791. [Written also {plebiscit}.]
     [1913 Webster]


  
           Plebiscite we have lately taken, in popular use, from
           the French.                              --Fitzed.
                                                    Hall.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  plebiscite
       n : a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a
           question of national importance

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  61 Moby Thesaurus words for "plebiscite":
     Australian ballot, Hare system, aye, ballot, canvass, canvassing,
     casting vote, constitutional referendum, counting heads,
     cumulative voting, deciding vote, direct initiative, division,
     enfranchisement, facultative referendum, fagot vote, franchise,
     graveyard vote, hand vote, indirect initiative, initiative,
     list system, mandate, mandatory referendum, nay, no,
     nontransferable vote, plebiscitum, plumper, plural vote, poll,
     polling, preferential voting, proportional representation, proxy,
     recall, record vote, referendum, representation, right to vote,
     rising vote, say, secret ballot, show of hands, single vote,
     snap vote, statutory referendum, straw vote, suffrage,
     transferable vote, viva voce, voice, voice vote, vote, voting,
     voting right, write-in, write-in vote, yea, yeas and nays, yes
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  PLEBISCITE, n.  A popular vote to ascertain the will of the sovereign.