gerrymander
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ger·ry·man·der
(jĕr′ē-măn′dər, gĕr′-)tr.v. ger·ry·man·dered, ger·ry·man·der·ing, ger·ry·man·ders
To divide (a geographic area) into voting districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage in elections.
n.
1. The act, process, or an instance of gerrymandering.
2. A district or configuration of districts whose boundaries are very irregular due to gerrymandering.
[After Elbridge Gerry + (sala)mander (from the shape of an election district created while Gerry was governor of Massachusetts).]
Word History: In 1812, as governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry signed a bill authorizing the revision of voting districts in his state. Members of Gerry's party redrew them in order to secure their representation in the state senate, and out of Gerry's home county, Essex County, they carved an unlikely-looking district with the shape of a salamander. According to one version of the coining of gerrymander, the shape of the district attracted the eye of the painter Gilbert Stuart, who noticed it on a map in a newspaper editor's office. Stuart decorated the outline of the district with a head, wings, and claws and then said to the editor, "That will do for a salamander!" "Gerrymander!" came the reply. The image created by Stuart first appeared in the March 26, 1812, edition of the Boston Gazette, where it was accompanied by the following title: The Gerrymander. A New Species of Monster, which appeared in the Essex South District in Jan. 1812. The new word gerrymander caught on instantly—within the same year gerrymander is also recorded as a verb. (Gerry's name, incidentally, was pronounced with a hard (g) sound, although the word which has immortalized him is now commonly pronounced with a soft (j) sound.) Gerry ran for reelection in 1812, and popular outrage directed at the flagrant use of the technique we now call gerrymandering doubtless played a role in his defeat.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
gerrymander
(ˈdʒɛrɪˌmændə)vb
1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) to divide the constituencies of (a voting area) so as to give one party an unfair advantage
2. to manipulate or adapt to one's advantage
n
an act or result of gerrymandering
[C19: from Elbridge Gerry, US politician + (sala)mander; from the salamander-like outline of an electoral district reshaped (1812) for political purposes while Gerry was governor of Massachusetts]
ˌgerryˈmandering n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ger•ry•man•der
(ˈdʒɛr ɪˌmæn dər, ˈgɛr-)n.
1. the dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.
v.t. 2. to subject (a state, county, etc.) to a gerrymander.
[1812, Amer.; after E. Gerry (governor of Massachusetts, whose party redistricted the state in 1812) + (sala)mander, from the fancied resemblance of the map of Essex County, Mass., to this animal, after the redistricting]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
gerrymander
Past participle: gerrymandered
Gerund: gerrymandering
| Imperative |
|---|
| gerrymander |
| gerrymander |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  gerrymander - an act of gerrymandering (dividing a voting area so as to give your own party an unfair advantage) |
| Verb | 1. | gerrymander - divide unfairly and to one's advantage; of voting districts |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
gerrymander
[ˈdʒerɪmændəʳ]A. VT [+ voting area] dividir de manera favorable a un partido; (= manipulate) → manipular
B. VI dividir una zona electoral de manera favorable a un partido
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
gerrymander
(Pol)vt to gerrymander constituency boundaries → Wahlkreisschiebungen vornehmen
n → Wahlkreisschiebung f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007