Word of the Day
: November 2, 2010psephology
playWhat It Means
: the scientific study of elections
psephology in Context
Erin is a political science major with a particular interest in psephology.
"To help voters make up their minds, this issue contains a 20-page briefing on personality, policy and psephology." -- From an article in The Economist, April 10, 2010
Did You Know?
"Psephology" is from the Greek word "psēphos," meaning "pebble." (One relative of "psephology" is "psephomancy," meaning "divination by pebbles.") "Psephology" merited election as the name for the work of analysts of elections, or psephologists, because pebbles were used by the ancient Greeks in voting. Similarly, the word "ballot" was an excellent choice for a means of voting since it is derived from "balla," the Italian word for "ball," and Italians placed balls in a container to cast votes.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Word Trivia
What word meaning "to banish" or "to exclude from a group" comes from an ancient Greek method of voting by writing a name down on a pottery fragment? The answer is ...
More Words of the Day
-
Apr 24
burgeon
-
Apr 23
exodus
-
Apr 22
palpable
-
Apr 21
noblesse oblige
-
Apr 20
gingerly
-
Apr 19
underwhelm
