electorate

Etymology

From elector (“person eligible to vote in an election; German prince entitled to elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire”) + -ate (suffix denoting an office or rank; or something characterized by [the specified word]). Elector is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”).

noun

1. The collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote.
   The votes have been counted and the electorate has spoken.
   Incoming governments normally announce that they will seek to serve the whole electorate. Now, playing out in triplicate across the UK is a "divide and rule" approach to leadership, straight from Donald Trump's playbook: each faction consolidating its base, choosing an enemy and accusing opponents of treason in the hope that in a multiparty system they can win with a minority of votes. 10 August 2019, Gordon Brown, “The very idea of a United Kingdom is being torn apart by toxic nationalism”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-08-08
2. (historical) The office, or area of dominion, of an Elector (“a German prince entitled to elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire”); an electorship.
   […] Brandenburg, emerging around what would become Berlin, acquired distinct status as an electorate in the mid-fourteenth century. 2016, Peter H[amish] Wilson, “Lands”, in Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire, Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, part II (Belonging), page 187
3. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand) A geographical area represented by one or more elected officials; a constituency, an electoral district.
   The electorate of Finchley borders on the electorate of Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, splitting the new housing estate of Royal Cupolas.