psephism

English

Etymology

Ancient Greek ψήφισμα (psḗphisma, “a decree”) from ψηφίζω (psēphízō, “to vote”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiːfɪzəm/, /ˈsɛfɪzəm/

Noun

psephism (plural psephisms)

1. (historical, Ancient Greece) A proposition adopted by a majority of votes, especially by the vote of the Athenian people; a statute.

   Synonym: psephisma

   • 1694, John Potter, Archaeologica Graeca:

     No psephism shall pass to the commons before the senate's supervisal. The tablets on which the psephisms are engraved are by no means to be removed.

   • 1880, John Pentland Mahaffy, History of Classical Greek Literature:

     The well-known story of the Spartan psephism quoted by Boethius de musica, via. that the Spartans ordered him to cut off four of his eleven strings […] is contradicted by the present text