Definitions for: Franchise


[n] a statutory right or privilege granted to a person or group by a government (especially the right to vote)
[n] an authorization to sell a company's goods or services in a particular place
[n] a business established or operated under an authorization to sell or distribute a company's goods or services in a particular area
[v] grant a franchise to; in commerce



Webster (1913) Definition: Fran"chise (? or ?; 277), n. [F., fr. franc, fem.
franche, free. See Frank, a.]
1. Exemption from constraint or oppression; freedom; liberty.
[Obs.] --Spenser.

2. (LAw) A particular privilege conferred by grant from a
sovereign or a government, and vested in individuals; an
imunity or exemption from ordinary jurisdiction; a
constitutional or statutory right or privilege, esp. the
right to vote.

Election by universal suffrage, as modified by the
Constitution, is the one crowning franchise of the
American people. --W. H.
Seward.

3. The district or jurisdiction to which a particular
privilege extends; the limits of an immunity; hence, an
asylum or sanctuary.

Churches and mobasteries in Spain are franchises for
criminals. --London
Encyc.

4. Magnanimity; generosity; liberality; frankness; nobility.
``Franchise in woman.'' [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Elective franchise, the privilege or right of voting in an
election of public officers.


Fran"chise, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Franchised; p. pr.
& vb. n. Franchising.] [Cf. OF. franchir to free, F., to
cross.]
To make free; to enfranchise; to give liberty to. --Shak.

Synonyms: dealership

See Also: business, business concern, business organisation, business organization, certify, concern, concession, grant, legal right, licence, license, right to vote, suffrage, vote

Try our:
Scrabble Word Finder

Scrabble Cheat

Words With Friends Cheat

Hanging With Friends Cheat

Scramble With Friends Cheat

Ruzzle Cheat



Related Resources:
animals beginning with g
animals starting with u