constituency

constituency
/keuhn stich"ooh euhn see/, n., pl. constituencies.
1. a body of constituents; the voters or residents in a district represented by an elective officer.
2. the district itself.
3. any body of supporters, customers, etc.; clientele.
[1825-35; CONSTITU(ENT) + -ENCY]

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▪ political unit
      basic electoral unit into which eligible electors are organized to elect representatives to a legislative or other public body. The registration of electors is also usually undertaken within the bounds of the constituency.

      Constituencies vary in size and in the number of representatives elected by them. In size they may number a few thousand or be as large as the country itself. Constituencies may be represented by one or by several representatives, depending on the type of electoral system employed. All constituencies within a state should, ideally, be equal in population. To achieve this as nearly as possible, periodic alterations of boundaries are made. Constituencies are most often formed on a geographical basis, but the basis could also be occupational (for example, the university constituencies that once existed in the United Kingdom).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • constituency — con·stit·u·en·cy /kən sti chə wən sē/ n pl cies 1: a body of citizens entitled to elect a representative (as to a legislative or executive office) 2: the residents in an electoral district 3: an electoral district Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of… …   Law dictionary

  • Constituency — Con*stit u*en*cy (k[o^]n*st[ict]t [ u]*[ e]n*s[y^]), n.; pl. {Constituencies} (k[o^]n*st[ict]t [ u]*[ e]n*s[i^]z). A body of constituents, as the body of citizens or voters in a representative district. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • constituency — body of constituents, 1806, from CONSTITUENT (Cf. constituent) + CY (Cf. cy) …   Etymology dictionary

  • constituency — [n] voting public balloters, body of voters, body politic, citizenry, city, county, district, electorate, electors, faction, nation, people, precinct, state, system, voters, voting area, ward; concept 379 …   New thesaurus

  • constituency — ► NOUN (pl. constituencies) 1) a body of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body. 2) chiefly Brit. the area represented in this way …   English terms dictionary

  • constituency — [kən stich′o͞o ən sē] n. pl. constituencies [< CONSTITUENT + CY] 1. all the people, esp. voters, served by a particular elected official, esp. a legislator 2. the district of such a group of voters, etc. 3. a group of clients, supporters, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Constituency — A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. It can be used to describe a business s customer base and shareholders, or a charity s donors or those it serves. The most common meaning of… …   Wikipedia

  • constituency — noun 1 (esp. BrE) district that elects a political representative ADJECTIVE ▪ important, key ▪ home (AmE), local ▪ marginal (BrE) ▪ The Tories are conce …   Collocations dictionary

  • constituency — con|sti|tu|en|cy W3 [kənˈstıtʃuənsi] n plural constituencies 1.) BrE an area of a country that elects a representative to a parliament ▪ a rural constituency ▪ constituency boundaries ▪ He represents the Essex constituency of Epping Forest. 2.) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • constituency — [[t]kənstɪ̱tʃuənsi[/t]] constituencies 1) N COUNT A constituency is an area for which someone is elected as the representative in a parliament or government. 2) N COUNT: usu with supp A particular constituency is a section of society that may… …   English dictionary

  • constituency — noun (plural cies) Date: 1831 1. a. a body of citizens entitled to elect a representative (as to a legislative or executive position) b. the residents in an electoral district c. an electoral district 2 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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