Elect

How to spell elect

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce elect

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does elect mean?

1. verbTo choose someone for a position or office by voting.
2. verbTo decide on or choose to do something deliberately.
3. adjectiveChosen for an office but not yet formally installed in it.

Elect in a sentence

• verb

  The members will elect a new chairperson at the annual meeting.

• verb

  Many employees elect to receive their bonus as extra holiday.

• adjective

  The president elect moved into temporary offices before the inauguration.

• verb

  Voters across the country gathered to elect their next leader.

• verb

  She may elect to take early retirement next spring.

• adjective

  As mayor elect, he began assembling his transition team.

Where does elect come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb eligere, meaning 'to pick out' or 'to choose', formed from the prefix ex-, meaning 'out', and legere, meaning 'to gather, pick, or read'. The past participle electus, 'chosen', is the form that English actually carried over, which is why the word ends in a hard -ct. It entered English in the late 1400s, at first in religious senses about those 'chosen' by God, before settling into its modern political meaning of choosing officials by vote. The same legere root sits inside a surprising family of relatives, including 'select', 'collect', 'lecture', and even 'elegant', all of which involve some idea of picking or gathering. Because the spelling preserves that Latin participle ending, the final cluster is simply -ect with no silent letters to trip over.

How the word is built

• e- (out, from ex-)
• lect (from legere: to choose, pick, gather)