suffragette
/ˌsʌf.ɹəˈd͡ʒɛt/
suffragette means A female supporter, often militant, of women's right to vote in the early 20th century, especially in Great Britain. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.
suffragette is pronounced /ˌsʌf.ɹəˈd͡ʒɛt/.
Why “suffragette” is a great word
A militant woman who campaigned, often through direct action, for the right to vote in the early twentieth century. The term derives from suffrage ("the right to vote") and the diminutive suffix -ette, often used to form feminine nouns; first used as a derisive label by the British newspaper The Daily Mail in 1906, later adopted by the movement. Unlike a "suffragist," who pursued constitutional persuasion, or a "feminist," whose scope is the broader architecture of equality, a suffragette was defined by her deliberate, public militancy. She was the shattered glass of a department store window, the acrid taste of hunger in a prison cell, and the defiant purple, white, and green stripes of a banner unfurled before charging police horses—a testament to how a belittling label can be forged into a badge of honor through radical, physical refusal of political silence.
Etymology
From suffrage + -ette, first used as a derisive label by the Daily Mail in 1906, but eventually adopted by the WSPU itself.
noun
- A female supporter, often militant, of women's right to vote in the early 20th century, especially in Great Britain.“Perhaps no single location resonates for women’s rights campaigners today as much as Holloway, the first female-only prison, where militant suffragettes were incarcerated, went on hunger strike and were savagely force-fed.”
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