gerrymander
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From (Elbridge) Gerry + (sala)mander, from the similarity in shape to a salamander of an electoral district created when Gerry was the governor of Massachusetts
[edit] Pronunciation
Note: Elbridge Gerry's surname was pronounced with a hard g (g, /ɡ/, /g/) but gerrymander is pronounced with a soft g (enPR: j, IPA: /dʒ/, SAMPA: /dZ/)
- (RP) enPR: jĕ'rē"măndə, IPA: /ˈdʒɛriˌmændə/, SAMPA: /"dZEri%m{nd@/
- (US) enPR: jĕ'rē"măndər, IPA: /ˈdʒɛriˌmændɚ/, SAMPA: /"dZEri%m{nd@`/
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Audio (US) (file)
[edit] Verb
gerrymander (third-person singular simple present gerrymanders, present participle gerrymandering, simple past and past participle gerrymandered)
- (transitive, pejorative) To divide a geographic area into voting districts in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to one party in an election.
- (transitive, pejorative, by extension) To draw dividing lines for other types of districts in an unintuitive way to favor a particular group or for other perceived gain.
- The superintendent helped gerrymander the school district lines in order to keep the children of the wealthy gated community in the better school all the way across town.
[edit] Noun
gerrymander (plural gerrymanders)
- (pejorative) The act of gerrymandering.
- By this iniquitous practice, which is known as the gerrymander, the party in a minority in each State is allowed to get only about one-half or one-quarter of its proper share of representation.
- (pejorative) A voting district skewed by gerrymandering.
- Any citizen looking at a map of district 12 could immediately tell that it was a gerrymander because of the ridiculous way it cut across 4 counties while carving up neighborhoods in half.
[edit] Translations
The act of gerrymandering
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A voting district skewed by gerrymandering
