franchise

[ fran-chahyz ]

noun

1. a privilege of a public nature conferred on an individual, group, or company by a government:

   a franchise to operate a bus system.

2. the right or license granted by a company to an individual or group to market its products or services in a specific territory.
3. a store, restaurant, or other business operating under such a license.
4. the territory over which such a license extends.
5. the right to vote:

   to guarantee the franchise of every citizen.

6. a privilege arising from the grant of a sovereign or government, or from prescription, which presupposes a grant.
7. Sports.
   1. the right to own or operate a professional sports team as a member of a league.
   2. a professional sports team.
   3. a player of great talent or popular appeal, considered vitally important to a team's success or future.
8. a set of creative works and related merchandise that share a fictional world, as films, television shows, books, or games:

   the Star Wars franchise;

   the Pokémon franchise.

9. a legal immunity or exemption from a particular burden, exaction, or the like.
10. Obsolete. freedom, especially from imprisonment, servitude, or moral restraint.

verb (used with object)

, fran·chised, fran·chis·ing.

1. to grant (an individual, company, etc.) a franchise:

   The corporation has just franchised our local dealer.

2. enfranchise none.

franchise

/ ˈfræntʃɪzmənt; ˈfræntʃaɪz /

noun

1. the franchise
   the right to vote, esp for representatives in a legislative body; suffrage
2. any exemption, privilege, or right granted to an individual or group by a public authority, such as the right to use public property for a business
3. commerce authorization granted by a manufacturing enterprise to a distributor to market the manufacturer's products
4. the full rights of citizenship
5. films a film that is or has the potential to be part of a series and lends itself to merchandising
6. (in marine insurance) a sum or percentage stated in a policy, below which the insurer disclaims all liability

verb

1. tr commerce to grant (a person, firm, etc) a franchise
2. an obsolete word for enfranchise

franchise

¹

1. In business, a relationship between a manufacturer and a retailer in which the manufacturer provides the product, sales techniques, and other kinds of managerial assistance, and the retailer promises to market the manufacturer's product rather than that of competitors. For example, most automobile dealerships are franchises. The vast majority of fast food chains are also run on the franchise principle, with the retailer paying to use the brand name.

franchise

²

1. In politics, the right to vote. The Constitution left the determination of the qualifications of voters to the states. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, states usually restricted the franchise to white men who owned specified amounts of property. Gradually, poll taxes were substituted for property requirements. Before the Civil War , the voting rights of blacks were severely restricted, but the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, declared ratified in 1870, prohibited states from abridging the right to vote on the basis of race. Nevertheless, southern states used a variety of legal ploys to restrict black voting until passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . Women were not guaranteed the right to vote in federal elections until ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. In 1971 the Twenty-sixth Amendment lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen. ( See suffrage and suffragette .)

Notes

Losing the right to vote, called disfranchisement , is most commonly caused by failing to reregister, a procedure that is required every time a person changes residence.

Derived Forms

• ˈfranchiser, noun
• ˈfranchiˌsee, noun
• franchisement, noun

Other Words From

• franchis·a·ble adjective
• franchis·a·bili·ty noun
• fran·chise·ment [fran, -chahyz-m, uh, nt, -chiz-], noun
• over·franchised adjective
• sub·franchise noun verb (used with object) subfranchised subfranchising
• un·franchised adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of franchise¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, derivative of franc “free”; frank ¹none

Word History and Origins

Origin of franchise¹

C13: from Old French, from franchir to set free, from franc free; see frank

Example Sentences

The network announced Thursday that veteran anchor Craig Melvin, part of the network’s morning franchise since 2016, is taking over for the departing Hoda Kotb.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s also something comforting for audiences in seeing familiar faces on the screen, like Tom Cruise in 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” which returned to the flyboy’s story after a 36-year hiatus, or Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life,” which came 17 years after the franchise’s last installment.

From Los Angeles Times

They launched an entire media franchise that includes Michael Bay blockbusters, TV shows, comic books and video games.

From Salon

Born from YouTube, JJ and his friends in the animated kids’ franchise “CoComelon” represent a new wave of children’s programming.

From Los Angeles Times

“CoComelon” producer Moonbug Entertainment declined to share financial results for the franchise, but parent company Candle Media said Moonbug was the biggest and most profitable piece of its business, which also includes actor Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company.

From Los Angeles Times