English
suffrage
Suffrage comes from Classical Latin suffrāgium ‘support, vote, right of voting’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-1‘to break’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuffrāgō1
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuffrāgium1‘support, vote, right of voting’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500suffrage1‘prayers or pleas on behalf of another’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1521suffrage1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English suffrage
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1521, John Skelton: “Retoricyons and oratours, in freſhe humanyte Support parrot, I…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-Wiktionary, English suffrage‘to break’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuffrāgōWiktionary, English suffrage
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuffrāgiumWiktionary, English suffrage‘support, vote, right of voting’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500suffrageWiktionary, English suffrage‘prayers or pleas on behalf of another’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1521suffrageWiktionary, English suffrage. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1521, John Skelton: “Retoricyons and oratours, in freſhe humanyte Support parrot, I…”
The story
Not related to suffer. The sense of "vote" or "right to vote" was directly derived from Classical Latin.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’
break, broken, broke, brigade, brake, bracket, fraction, fracture, fragile, refrain, bray, fragment, fret, breech, frail, infringe, brogan, fractal, refractory, brogue, 38 more
Today it means
noun The right or chance to vote, express an opinion, or participate in a decision, especially in a democratic election.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “suffrage”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / suffrage