▪ I. vote, n.
(vəʊt)
Also 7 voate; Sc. 6 voit, voitt, vott, 6–7 voite; 6 wote, woit, wott, 7 woatt.
[ad. L. vōtum vow, wish, properly the pa. pple. neut. of vovēre to vow, desire. Hence also It., Sp., Pg. voto; mod.F. vote in sense 5 is from English. Before 1600 only in Sc. use.]
I. † 1. A vow; a solemn promise or undertaking. Obs.
| 1533 Bellenden Livy v. x. (S.T.S.) II. 182 Nochtwithstanding þat þai made solempne vote to appollo, ȝit þai tuke mare regarde of ony vthir thing þan to..fulfil þe said vote. 1536 ― Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 141 King Hungus..maid solempnit vote, that he and his posterite sall use na ansenye in times cuming..bot the croce of Sanct Andro. 1715 M. Davies Athen. Brit. I. 152 A Temporal Religious Pensioner, or what is vulgarly call'd a Galloping-Nun, without any Votes. |
† 2. a. A prayer or intercession.
Obs.| 1626 B. Jonson Fort. Isles, Song Wks. (Rtldg.) 651/1 All the heavens consent, With harmony to tune their notes, In answer to the public votes, That for it up were sent. 1633 Cowley Constantia & Philetus 146 Now at last the pitying God, o'recome By his constant votes and teares, fixt in her heart A golden shaft. 1656 J. Prideaux Euchologia 226 Here may be taken in those interchangeable Votes of Priest and People, which are interposed, ‘O Lord, arise, help us and deliver us for thy Names sake!’ 1664 Fuller Triana & Paduana in Wounded Consc., etc. (1867) 223 Being assigned but three hours of three several days, for the begging of the votes of mankind to help her in her extremity. |
† b. A petition, a request.
Obs.—1| 1645 Unholsome Henbane betw. two Fragr. Roses 1 A most humble Vote, and serious desire to our..Assembly of Divines. |
† 3. An aspiration; an ardent wish or desire.
Obs. (Common 1630–60.)
| a 1626 Bacon Hist. Gt. Brit. Wks. (Bohn) 498 Queen Elizabeth..carrying a hand restrained in gift, and strained in points of prerogative, could not answer the votes either of servants or subjects to a full contentment, especially in her latter days. 1640 Habington Edw. IV, 169 Nothing was more in the vote of the English; then to preserve King Lewys safe in his estate at home. 1656 Sanderson Serm. (1689) 541 The Glory of God, is to be the Alpha and Omega of all our votes and desires. 1667 Decay Chr. Piety v. ¶29 To breath out Moses's wish, O that men were wise; or if that be too hopeless a vote, O that men were not so destructively foolish. |
II. † 4. a. Sc. A formal expression of opinion by a member of a deliberative assembly on a matter under discussion; a decision or verdict.
Obs.| 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xiii. (S.T.S.) I. 76 Quhen þe maist parte & nowmer of senatouris war foundin of þe samyn votis as þe first has schewin,..it is accustumyt [etc.]. 1562 Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 76 Quhat..wes the woceis and woteis of al [the bishops in council], bot that the thing quhilk wes techeit of auld suld be haldin? 1581 Burne in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 154 Thair is na ressoune quhy he sould follou rather the voittis of your ministeris, nor ye the voittis of his bischopis. |
† b. Sc. in one vote, with one consent, of one accord, unanimously.
Obs.| 1546 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 28 Tha all in ane vote conselit and consentit that my Lord Governour suld cause the said hous to be deliverit to the said Lord Maxwell. c 1550 Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 494 All in ane voit set thair Felicitie On future thingis, and Predestination. 1582–8 Hist. James VI (1804) 81 They all in ane voite [1825 voce], voittit, declarit, and testified, that [etc.]. |
5. a. An indication, by some approved method, of one's opinion or choice on a matter under discussion; an intimation that one approves or disapproves, accepts or rejects, a proposal, motion, candidate for office, or the like.
casting vote: see
casting ppl. a. 2.
| c 1460 in Liber Pluscardensis (Skene) I. 394 Be eleccioune chosin men of gude,..Quhilkis has the votis of al the commonis hale. 1552 in Rec. Convent. Roy. Burghs (1870) I. 3 To woit about throw that haill nowmer,..and he that gettis monyest wottis to be chosin and sworn incontinent. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 18 Lyk as he haid beine suppreme magistratt apprivit be the vottis of this realme. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 246 Malduin the fourt sone of King Donalde,..with al votis, is declaired king. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. ii. 132 The crime being lawfully provin,..be the suffrages and voites of the estaites in parliament..he may be condemned. 1651 Hobbes Govt. & Soc. vii. §14. 119 The civill Person sinnes not, but those subjects only by whose votes it was decreed for sinne. 1681 Wood Life 5 July (1848) 231 Both his dispensations for terms and absence from lectures were denied but by one vote. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 192 A young Prussian nobleman..was very near undergoing the same fate.., two votes only saving him from losing his head. 1823 Local Act 4 Geo. IV, c. iii. §8 Where the Number of Votes upon any Question shall be equal (including the Chairman's Vote) the Chairman shall have the casting Vote. 1855 Tennyson Maud i. vi. vi, That so, when the rotten hustings shake In another month to his brazen lies, A wretched vote may be gain'd. 1884 tr. Lotze's Logic 394 It is sometimes done by simply counting the single vote of the preferred person as equal to several votes. |
b. In the phrase
to give (in recent use also to record) a or one's vote.
| a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 269 Lord Patrick Lyndsay that hes gevin the first wott. a 1654 Selden Table-T. (1689) 6 Bishops give not their Votes by Blood in Parliament, but by an Office annext to them. 1727 Bailey (vol. II), Voting, giving his Vote or Suffrage at the Election of a Magistrate, or making a Law, etc. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. 165 If it were probable that every man would give his vote freely and without influence. a 1856 [see record v.1 9 b]. |
c. transf. (
Cf. sense 9.)
| 1652 Crashaw Poems (1904) 189 Twixt pen and pensill rose a holy strife Which might draw vertue better to the life. Best witts gave votes to that. 1667 Jer. Taylor Dissuas. Popery ii. i. §7. 217 But the events of salvation and damnation (blessed be God) do not depend upon the votes and sentences of men. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Art of Poetry 467 Profit and Pleasure, then, to mix with Art, T' inform the Judgement, nor offend the Heart, Shall gain all Votes. 1829 Lytton Devereux i. iv, You run, ride, leap too, better than anyone else, according to the votes of your comrades. |
d. A means of signifying choice, approval, etc.; a voting tablet or ticket.
| 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam iv. xxii, Her voice, whose awful sweetness doth repress All evil,..And cast the vote of love in hope's abandoned urn. 1838 F. A. P[aley] tr. Schömann's Assemb. Athen. i. xi. 129 The citizens of each tribe cast their votes of condemnation or acquittal into one urn. |
6. a. The collective opinion or assent of an assembly or body of persons.
to take a vote, to ascertain the opinion of a meeting by formal reference.
| 1582 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 482 To beare the chargeis of provest, baillies, eldermen, and counsale of the said burgh, not being electit thairto be commoun consent and voit of the haill inhabitantis. 1597–8 Rec. Earldom Orkney lxxix. (S.H.S.) 173 Patrik, Erle of Orkney..sittand in judgement at the head court callit the Harmanstein..befoir the haill woit of the countrie. 1624 Massinger Renegado Ded., With a full vote and suffrage it is acknowledged that the patronage and protection of the dramatic poem is your's. 1632 Chron. Perth (Maitl. Cl.) 33 Mr John row wes admittit master of the gramer scole, be the provest, baillies, and counsall, without consent or woatt of ony wtheris. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 313 For so the popular vote Inclines, here to continue, and build up here A growing Empire. 1721 Ramsay Prospect of Plenty 133 Nor can we wyt them, since they had our vote. 1821 Byron Two Foscari v. i, Why would the general vote compel me hither? 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. I. 76 The law of the double vote had been..an implement of war directed against the throne. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 88 One is to be chosen by lot out of ten who are elected by vote. 1884 tr. Lotze's Logic 394 A number of groups in each of which a separate vote is taken. |
b. In the phrase
to put to the vote, to submit to the decision of a meeting. Similarly (of a question),
to go to the vote.
| 1599 Hist. Writers to Signet (1890) 234 It being put to vote.., the maist part voteit to the said incorporatioun. 1681 in Acts Parlt. Scotl. (1875) XII. 45/2 It was putt to the vote, If the Act should be delayed or not, and was carried in the negative. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch V. 87 Cato, however, before it was put to the vote, ascended the rostrum. 1823 New Monthly Mag. IX. 244/1 He implored the House not to let the question go to the vote. 1857 Toulmin Smith Parish 58 He must then put it to the Vote whether the meeting ‘approve’ and ‘confirm’ the minutes. 1888 [see put v.1 22 b]. |
c. The collective support of a special number or class of persons in a deliberative decision, election, etc. (
Cf. 7 c.)
| 1851 Gallenga Italy 391 We must not, indeed, allow that it was the result of the Lombard vote that turned Sardinia's allies into enemies. 1884 Nation (N.Y.) 3 July 1/3 Mr. Blaine will get the following ‘votes’. The Hebrew vote, because he spoke severely about the persecution of the Jews by Russia; the Dynamite vote, because he is down on the English. |
7. a. The right or privilege of exercising the suffrage;
esp. in the phrase
to have a vote.
| a 1585 Montgomerie Cherry & Slae 683 (Laing MS.), Thay say þat wayage neuir luckis, quhair ilk ane hes ane woit. 1624 in Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. (1913) 130 It is to be carryed by most voyces, because every Councillor hath equall vote there. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 109 If every man of England has not a like vote and power in electing Members for the House of Commons, then cannot the House of Commons be the Representative of the Nation. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 5 Who has sufficient to drive a Trade that will bear an Imposition of Eight Crowns, has as good a Vote as he that Trades for an Hundred Thousand. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. 165 Every member of the community..should have a vote in electing those delegates. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. II. x. 229 The common people ceased to have votes. 1829 Macaulay Mill on Govt. in Edin. Rev. Mar. 177 On these grounds Mr. Mill recommends that all males of mature age, rich and poor, educated and ignorant, shall have votes. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. 379 Each tribe, however feeble, had two votes in the deliberation of the congress. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt xi, He..was already a forty-shilling freeholder, and was conscious of a vote for the county. |
b. A person regarded merely as an embodiment of the right to vote; also, a person possessing the right to vote; a voter.
| 1737 Pope Hor. Ep. ii. ii. 197 That from a Patriot of distinguish'd note, Have bled and purg'd me to a simple Vote. ? a 1800 Devonshire's Noble Duel ii. in Child Ballads vii. 114/2 Then away to the Parliament these votes all went again, And there they acted like just and honest men. 1806 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Tristia Wks. 1812 V. 298 Oh! had I been a vote, a borough vote, Then Fortune would have squeezed me by thy hand. Ibid. 299 To enter the votes' houses up and down. 1852 R. S. Hawker in C. E. Byles Life xiii. (1905) 220, I am not a vote, but a Man. The reverse is the general fact. People are not Men but votes. |
c. The aggregate of voters,
esp. of a certain class. (
Cf. 6 c.)
| 1888 Daily Chron. 26 April (Cassell's) Alluding to the large amount of the illiterate vote in Ireland. |
8. a. A resolution or decision passed by, or carried in, an assembly as the result of voting; an expression of opinion formally adopted by a meeting of any kind.
| 1641 Jrnls. Ho. Comm. II. 230/2 Resolved..That these Votes shall be printed; and attested under the Clerk's Hand. 1648 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 192 The distempers of the Houses (to see their former votes eluded and Presb[yterians] lately excluded now so numerous to carie all votes with a high hand) will grow suddenly to a great fire. 1682 A. Mudie Pres. St. Scotl. ii. 26 The Prerogatives of the Crown are great, as Power of..giving the Votes of Parliament, the Authority of Laws. 1713 Steele Englishm. No. 2 ¶7 That's the Gentleman who gained the first Vote [in the Senate] against Hannibal. 1724 Swift Drapier's Lett. Wks. 1738 IV. 62 Several smart Votes were printed. 1809 Med. Jrnl. XXI. 170 Pursuant to a Vote of the House of Commons, passed in the last Session. 1855 in Blaikie Livingstone ix. (1881) 185, I need not say that the award was made by an unanimous and cordial vote. 1874 Green Short Hist. ix. §9. 700 Marlborough was..charged with peculation, and condemned as guilty by a vote of the House of Commons. |
(
b)
vote on account, a resolution at the close of the financial year to assign a sum of money to a government department as an advance payment before its full annual expenditure is authorized by law.
| 1859 Erskine May Law of Parl. (ed. 4) 531 Votes on account. The entire sums proposed to be granted for particular services, are not always voted at the same time, but a certain sum is occasionally voted on account of such grants. 1910 W. S. Churchill Let. 11 Mar. in R. S. Churchill Winston S. Churchill (1969) II. Compan. ii. xiii. 992 The Vote on account is the most powerful and the most simple Parliamentary engine by which the House of Commmons is assured of its influence upon the Executive Government. 1963 Economist 24 Feb. 71/3 Part of the central government's expenditure, as recorded in the ‘vote-on-account’, is simply of a transfer kind; it includes, for instance, not only such personal payments as family allowances but also grants to local authorities made out of the central tax pool. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1977) III. 332, I am worried about this year's Vote on Account. |
b. Const.
of.
vote of confidence, a resolution showing majority support for a government, policy, etc. Similarly
vote of no (or want of) confidence. Also
fig.| 1837 Dickens Pickw. xiii, Then a vote of thanks was moved to the mayor for his able conduct in the chair. 1846 G. Bentinck in Hansard Commons 8 June 182, I should certainly have preferred an Amendment which took the shape of a direct vote of want of confidence in Her Majesty's Ministers. 1863 H. Cox Instit. i. vi. 44 Subsequently in the session a further vote of public money has been required. 1870 Ld. Russell Sel. Speeches I. 154 Institutions..whose ministers resign on a vote of want of confidence. 1881 Sat. Rev. 30 July 125/1 A majority, if it is good for anything, may be relied upon to reject a vote of censure. 1955 Times 10 May 14/4 The Government are asking for a vote of confidence. 1962 Listener 13 Dec. 1002/1 Why is it that grown men and women, no less than teenagers, are registering this unmistakable vote of no confidence in a society which has in so many ways improved their physical and material conditions of life? 1963 Ibid. 14 Feb. 281/2 The government survived..a vote of no confidence in the Parliament. 1976 Glasgow Herald 26 Nov. 1/8 Derby County's Scottish manager, Dave Mackay, was dismissed last night after three years at the Baseball ground. He had asked the club's directors for a vote of confidence. |
† 9. a. A declaration or statement of opinion.
Obs.| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 206 [China] is by common vote, reputed the greatest Empire in the Orient. 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 228 The Vote of the Proverb, for a handsome Woman, would have her English to the Neck, French to the Waste, and Dutch below. a 1680 Glanvill Sadducismus i. App. (1681) 179 That a thing should be, and yet not be anywhere in the whole Universe, is so wild and mad a vote..that it cannot be said by any man in his wits. |
† b. Reckoning, estimate.
Obs.| 1639 G. Daniel Ecclus. The End 30, I blush to see our great Siracides ffall to the Vote of a low Paraphrase. |
10. attrib. and
Comb., as
vote-begging,
vote-catcher,
vote-collector,
vote-getter,
vote-getting,
vote-loser,
vote-monger,
vote-rigging,
vote-seeker,
vote-splitter,
vote-splitting,
vote-winner;
vote-catching,
vote-convicted,
vote-orientated,
vote-proof adjs.;
vote-wise adv.;
vote bank, in India, a group of people who can be relied upon to vote together in support of the same party;
Vote Office, the office from which Parliamentary bills and papers are issued to members of the House of Commons;
vote-recorder, a mechanical contrivance for registering votes.
| 1963 H. Tinker Democratic Ideal in Asia 17 The tribe, caste, or other association represents a ‘*vote bank’. 1982 Jrnl. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics XX. 9 The kinship group became an important vote-bank. |
| 1923 Weekly Dispatch 13 May 2/2 The wild men pin their faith to the Capital Levy as a *vote-catcher. 1977 Cork Examiner 6 June 1/7 Mr Leddin felt that Ald. Lipper was being victimised because he was a ‘vote catcher’ for the party in Limerick. |
| 1887 Huxley in Darwin's Life & Lett. (1887) II. 195 In the form of a *vote-catching resolution. |
| 1859 Mill Parl. Reform 32 Why should the *vote-collector make a distinction where the tax-gatherer makes none? |
| 1643 Sir J. Spelman Case of Affairs 28 Making them *Vote-convicted State Heretickes. |
| 1906 Springfield (Mass.) Weekly Republ. 1 Nov. 3 He is also a strong campaigner, and has proved himself a *vote-getter. 1981 Times 13 June 16/7 Mrs Williams..is..the party's outstanding vote-getter. 1984 Listener 4 Oct. 5/1 Margaret Thatcher has held doubting Conservatives loyal by a mixture of unrelenting leadership and a formidable reputation as a vote-getter. |
| 1892 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 3 Oct. 3/3 Mr. Needy..was made a victim of the *vote-getting machine. 1929 Daily Tel. 8 Jan. 10/4 Acidulated suggestions of a lack of moral principle one day, want of suppleness the next, and ignorance of the elementary arts of vote-getting the day after do not help the cause. 1963 A. Howard in Sissons & French Age of Austerity i. 16 The Conservatives..seem to have based their whole vote-getting strategy on a fundamental misreading of the nation's mood. |
| 1963 Guardian 25 Feb. 8/1 Nationalisation is a fully certified *vote-loser when it comes to election campaigning. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 150 Immigration can be the greatest potential vote-loser for the Labour Party. |
| 1887 Amer. Missionary July 195 Made tools of..by corrupt *vote-mongers. |
| 1844 May Treat. Parl. xx. 312 The *Vote-office is charged with the delivery of printed papers to members of the house. 1852 Disraeli Ld. G. Bentinck viii. (1872) 103 The interview by appointment took place in the Vote Office. |
| 1971 H. Wilson Labour Government xxxvi. 744 *Vote-orientated promises to increase most individual spending programmes. |
| 1928 G. B. Shaw Intelligent Woman's Guide Socialism lxiii. 291 Those who do understand it will never be unanimous in resisting it; consequently it is *voteproof at the parliamentary elections. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2715/1 *Vote-recorder. 1890 Pall Mall G. 5 Feb. 6/1 To expedite business by an electrical vote recorder. |
| 1958 New Statesman 22 Feb. 230/3 He also ignored the detailed figures I gave of 10 other branches which recorded votes in excess of the number of members entitled to vote in September 1948; nor does he deal..with any other of the numerous illustrations I gave of *vote-rigging. 1983 Listener 20 Dec. 32/2 A 1981 BBC play about the famous ETU vote-rigging scandal of the Fifties. |
| 1931 Economist 17 Oct. 723/1 *Vote-splitting will be avoided as far as possible. 1950 W. S. Churchill In Balance (1951) 391 Great harm was done to national interests at the General Election by the policy of the Liberal Party in running hopeless or vote-splitting candidatures in hundreds of constituencies. |
| 1959 Punch 16 Sept. 158/2 The wing-collared politicians who emancipated women *vote-wise probably had minds awhirl. 1969 G. Kirkland in R. Blythe Akenfield iv. 86 We are all mainly Socialists vote-wise. |
▪ II. vote, v. (
vəʊt)
Also 6
Sc. voitt,
woit,
wott; 8
whoat.
[f. L. vōt-, ppl. stem of vovēre to vow, to desire, or ad. med.L. vōtāre to devote by a vow, from the same stem. Cf. It. votare, Sp. and Pg. votar, to devote, to vote, F. voter to vote (in older use from It., in mod. use from English). Before 1600 almost exclusively a Sc. word.] † 1. intr. To vow (to do something).
Obs. rare.
| 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xv. (S.T.S.) I. 86 He votit to consecrate þe harnes and armoure of his Inemyis to þe god vulcane. Ibid. ii. ix. 163 Þe dictator..votit to edifie ane tempil in þe honoure of þe god Castor. |
2. a. refl. and trans. To assign by a vow; to devote religiously. Now
rare.
| 1533 Bellenden Livy v. xix. (S.T.S.) II. 211 All þe agit pepill..votit þame self wilfully to þe deith for þe wele of þere cuntre. 1589 Warner Alb. Eng. Prose Add. (1592) 195 The Queene..voted, euen in her better part, to the loue of æneas. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 55 In an impiety, or (at least) temerity, of invoking, provoking, voting, devoting, imprecating. 1865 J. H. Ingraham Pillar of Fire i. xi. 123 To enumerate what met my eyes in the vases, which the common soldiers in their piety voted to the god,..would fill the page on which I write. |
† b. To devote or consign
to destruction.
Obs.| 1676 Glanvill Ess. Philos. & Relig. iv. 1 The Books of curious Arts, that were voted to Destruction by Apostolick Authority and Zeal. |
3. a. intr. To give a vote; to exercise the right of suffrage; to express a choice or preference by ballot or other approved means. Also
fig. Cf. sense 3 c below.
| 1552 in Rec. Convent. Roy. Burghs (1870) I. 3 Thair sall convene in the Tolbuyth the auld counsale and new,..and thair to begyn at the litis of provestre, and to woit about throw that haill nowmer. 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 191 Because the brethren could not be fullie resolved for the present concerning the office of him who should vote in Parliament. 1651 Hobbes Govt. & Soc. vii. §1. 110 A Councell..of all the Citizens, (insomuch as every man of them hath a Right to Vote..) or of a part onely. 1727 Stukeley in Mem. (Surtees) 194 It will enable you however to whoat at our elections. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. i. ii. 167 The statutes..direct..that no person shall vote in right of any freehold granted to him fraudulently to qualify him to vote. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 100 With a compelled appearance of deliberation, they vote under the dominion of a stern necessity. 1845 Gladstone Corr. Ch. & Relig. (1910) I. 343 The question on which they voted was chosen for them by the Board of Heads. 1887 Lowell Democr. 31 The right to vote makes a safety-valve of every voter. 1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. 23/1 They said its auditorium was poorly designed—dead acoustics, too many seats too distant. But the audiences, voting at the box-office, have continued to come for almost 40 weeks of every season. |
b. Const.
against,
for (
† to), or with inf.
| 1599 [see vote n. 6 b]. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xviii. 88 Every one, as well he that Voted for it, as he that Voted against it, shall Authorise all the Actions and Judgements of that Man. 1681 Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 119 The fellows almost unanimously payd their obedience to his Majestys commands and voted for Finch. 1697 Dryden æneid iii. 86 All vote to leave that execrable shore. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones i. iv, Mrs. Wilkins..would have voted for sending the child..immediately out of the house. 1806 Med. Jrnl. XV. 244, I would humbly propose that each subscriber..be qualified to vote for the election of a surgeon to a county hospital. 1831 Sir J. Sinclair Corr. II. 451, I vote for the Abbé Sieyes,—whom do you vote for? 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola Introd. I. 8 Men..were conscious of having not only the right to vote, but the chance of being voted for. |
c. With the name of a political party or of a candidate as
quasi-adv.| 1918 [see labour n. 2 c]. 1926 Socialist Rev. Oct. 48 There are still hundreds of thousands of voters who cannot bring themselves to vote Conservative. 1938 Sun (Baltimore) 6 Sept. 20 (caption) Vote Lewis. 1949 C. P. Snow Time of Hope i. iv. 42 He voted radical and she was a vehement tory. 1977 R. Barnard Blood Brotherhood i. 11 The parishioners..voted Conservative, when they did not vote National Front. |
d. In
fig. phr. to vote with one's feet, to indicate an opinion by presence in or absence from a country, institution, activity, etc.
| 1965 Listener 16 Dec. 983/1 Politically, emigration provided a useful safety valve, anyone who hated the regime..could just vote with his feet and get out. 1968 Ibid. 31 Oct. 567/2 The McCarthy supporters began to realise that if the only choice was Nixon or Humphrey, perhaps the streets were the only true political arenas... On and after 5 November there will be plenty of voting with the feet. 1970 Guardian 30 July 9/6 The children..just vote with their feet and join in. 1972 M. Jones Life on Dole vii. 56 Welshmen, in fact, were voting with their feet against the hopelessness that surrounded them. Those who were qualified scattered themselves across England. 1982 Christian Order Nov. 546 Uncounted thousands have ‘voted with their feet’, i.e., have left the Church. 1985 Times 7 Jan. 15/1 With another 16,000 to 20,000 miners returning to work an effective majority would have voted with its feet to end the strike. |
† 4. a. To declare one's opinion.
Obs.—1| a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 268 [When] the lord Lyndsay had wottit in this maner, the haill lordis was contentit of this conclusioun. |
† b. To decide, to judge.
Obs. rare.
| 1643 Chas. I Lett. Wks. (1650) 230 Some finde fault with too much kindnesse to thee (thou maist easily vote from what constellation that comes). |
5. a. trans. Of assemblies, etc.: To choose, elect, enact, or establish by vote; to ratify or determine by formal expression of will.
| 1568 Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 74 The saidis baillies votit the samin be fre electioun of the haill communite. 1593 in Spalding Club Misc. I. Pref. 44 [The council] voitit, thocht guid and expedient, that the Grey freiris place thairof, sal be resignit. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Henry VIII (1683) 550 The Cardinal..was remoued to a Chamber apart..till the main question of the marriage was voted and agreed. 1665 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 317 It is generally voted, agreed, thought fit, and so ordered, that the keeping of the fair here on St. Martin's day..shall..for this year be absolutely forborne and forbidden. 1697 Dryden æneid ix. 298 They vote a message to their absent chief. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxviii. III. 73 Four respectable deputations were sucessively voted to the Imperial court. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1071 Having in common council voted a petition to the king. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. II. 180 Next year a parliament was summoned which..voted a new balia. 1865 Jrnl. Anthropol. Soc. III. 19 The following list of presents were read, and thanks were voted for the same. |
b. Const. with inf., expressing the result of the decision.
| 1648 Winyard Midsummer-Moon 4 Thus Oxford, like the house of office at Westminster, is voted to bee reformed by those who sould it. 1648 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 168 Yett in hope of a party, they haue voted the Papists to compound. 1675 F. Ld. Aungier in Essex Papers (Camden) 25 The House of Commons after a long debate vote the said persons to be sent to ye Tower. 1729 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 91 The motion..for voteing the aforenam'd persons to be free. |
c. Const.
away,
from,
in,
into,
off, etc.
| 1641 Sir E. Dering in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1692) iii. I. 295 You have done exceeding well to vote away this Bishop. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. xlvii. 126 Notwithstanding the Canon that had long before this time voted the Laity from having to do with Church matters. 1649 Milton Observ. Peace Ormond Wks. 1851 IV. 576 They had no privilege to sit there, and vote home the Author..of all our Miseries. 1835 T. Mitchell Acharn. of Aristoph. 530 note, Previous to his voting Agyrrius into office. 1870 Rogers Hist. Gleanings Ser. ii. 162 The House met..and voted away their privilege in cases of libel by 258 votes to 133. 1890 Longm. Mag. July 255 My name has been voted off the list of your committee. |
| refl. 1914 Times (weekly ed.) 13 Mar. 218 The..delimitation of the areas which may vote themselves out of Home Rule. |
d. With appositive predicate.
| 1649 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 443, I heare the Lords on Tuesday last voted all null since ye army siezed ye members. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 52 All the Kings commands in prosecution of the Laws, were Voted breaches of the Priviledges of Parliament. 1730 Lett. to Sir W. Strickland rel. to Coal Trade 21 The House of Commons, after an Enquiry..voted both Lightermen, Masters and Owners guilty of a Combination. |
e. With cognate object.
| 1871 Browning Pr. Hohenst. Wks. 1897 II. 304/1 Divers hundred thousand fools may vote A vote untampered with by one wise man. |
f. to vote stock or
vote shares, to cast votes representing stock held in a company.
U.S.| 1957 R. A. Heinlein in Mag. of Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Oct. 30/2, I had assigned the stock to her but she knew..that I always voted it, that I had had no intention of parting with control of the company. 1978 N.Y. Times 29 Mar. d10/1 The state pension agencies can vote the stock but the banks must confer with others first. |
† 6. To submit (a matter) to a vote; to vote upon.
Obs. rare.
| 1582–8 Hist. Jas. VI (1804) 130 Eftir the reeding of the quhilk supplicatioun, the heads quhairoff being reassonit and voitted, it was fund..that the Queene was compellit..to subscryve the said comissioun. 1689 in Acts Parlt. Scotl. (1875) XII. 57/1 It was voted if the Committie should be named be the plurality of the whole house or be the plurality of each of the three benches. |
7. to vote down, to defeat, to put down or suppress, by a vote.
| 1642 Laud Wks. (1854) IV. 10 About the tenth of this month, the bishops were voted down in the Upper House. 1644–7 Cleveland Char. Lond. Diurn. 2 And, since the Stages were voted down, the only Play-house is at Westminster. 1682 Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. ii. §5 (1716) 53 Old Truths voted down begin to resume their places. 1858 in Herndon Life A. Lincoln (1892) II. 115 The idea put forth by Judge Douglas, that he ‘don't care whether slavery is voted down or voted up.’ 1882 A. Bain Jas. Mill vi. 268 It is the aristocracy that must, in the House, vote down the Ministry. |
8. To grant, allow, or confer by vote.
| 1710 in 14th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. IX. 352 The Tories are preparing complaints, among them one against the Admiralty for spending 500,000l. more than was voted. 1711 Swift Examiner No. 46 ¶4 The Parliament voted Subsidies, and the willing People chearfully paid them. 1838 Thirlwall Greece IV. 91 They voted 1000 heavy infantry, 100 horse, and 50 galleys. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 510 Some among them talked of voting the revenue only for a term of years. 1873 C. Robinson N.S. Wales 83 The amount voted for public works in 1872 was {pstlg}642,856; and this is about the amount voted by Parliament every year for public improvements. |
| transf. 1871 E. F. Burr Ad Fidem iii. 41 All the proprieties vote him a rest. |
9. a. To declare by common assent; to characterize by an expression of opinion; to pronounce. Const. with simple
compl. or inf.
| 1663 Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xx, The old ways are much decried, and the last invention is voted to be altogether Divine. 1695 J. Edwards Perfect. Script. 395 We may..safely vote him a true penitent. 1718 Free-thinker No. 61. 36 Last Night, I was voted a very Impudent Fellow. 1781 F. Burney Diary May, He..spoke no more during the whole debate, which I am sure he was ready to vote a bore. 1812 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 40 Shooting and sport of this kind being voted a rarity at Atworth. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. xv, Receiving some not very encouraging response,..they voted her ladyship cursedly satirical. 1881 Punch 31 Dec. 309/1 The fair lady's dresses..were voted charming. |
b. colloq. To propose, suggest.
| 1814 Scott Wav. lxxi, I vote we should go to meet them. 1820 Shelley Œd. Tyr. ii. 122, I vote, in form of an amendment, that Purganax rub a little of that stuff Upon his face. Ibid. 127, I vote Swellfoot and Iona Try the magic test together. c 1850 J. M. Morton Box & Cox 23, I vote, Box, that we stick by her. 1880 Trollope Duke's Children I. xviii. 222 We've got the trap and the horses..and I vote we make a start. 1927 E. Bowen Hotel ii. 15, I vote we take those two on again. |
c. To agree in, decide on, sending (a person) to a place.
| 1863 Cowden Clarke Shaks. Char. xvii. 432 So far are we from voting him to Coventry,..there are few of us who would refuse to march through Coventry with him. |
10. a. To influence or control in voting; to cause to vote in a particular way.
| 1895 Standard Dict. s.v., He votes his employees. |
b. To present for voting; to record the votes of (electors).
U.S.| 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 98 They..are taken to the polls, and ‘voted’, as it is called, for the party. 1884 E. W. Nye Baled Hay 217, I believe they vote people there who have been dead for centuries. 1904 N.Y. Even. Post 8 Nov. 1, 25 men were in line in many places, and they were voted at a rate of nearly one a minute. |