DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Fran·chise n.
 1. Exemption from constraint or oppression; freedom; liberty. [Obs.]
 2. LAw A particular privilege conferred by grant from a sovereign or a government, and vested in individuals; an immunity 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.]
 Elective franchise, the privilege or right of voting in an election of public officers.