gerrymander
verb /ˈdʒerimændə(r)/
/ˈdʒerimændər/
(British English also jerrymander)
(disapproving)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they gerrymander | /ˈdʒerimændə(r)/ /ˈdʒerimændər/ |
| he / she / it gerrymanders | /ˈdʒerimændəz/ /ˈdʒerimændərz/ |
| past simple gerrymandered | /ˈdʒerimændəd/ /ˈdʒerimændərd/ |
| past participle gerrymandered | /ˈdʒerimændəd/ /ˈdʒerimændərd/ |
| -ing form gerrymandering | /ˈdʒerimændərɪŋ/ /ˈdʒerimændərɪŋ/ |
- gerrymander something to change the size and borders of an area for voting in order to give an unfair advantage to one party in an election
- The city had been gerrymandered so that the Protestant minority retained control.
Word Originearly 19th cent.: from the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts + salamander, from the supposed similarity between a salamander and the shape of a new voting district on a map drawn when he was in office (1812), the creation of which was felt to favour his party; the map (with claws, wings, and fangs added) was published in the Boston Weekly Messenger, with the title The Gerry-Mander.