rotten borough

ˌɹɒtn̩ ˈbʌɹə

2 definitions

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#1·7h ago

(historical) A parliamentary borough that was represented in Parliament although the number of voters had diminished so greatly that they were largely controlled by the main landowner; such boroughs were abolished in the 19th century.

Origin: [[File:Aerial photograph of Old Sarum site, on departure from Old Sarum airfield.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of Old Sarum in Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom. Old Sarum was one of the most notorious rotten boroughs ()—by the 17th century it had no residents, but the Pitt family which owned the land had the right to nominate non-resident tenants for plots of land who then voted for two Members of Parliament as the Pitts directed.]] From , because such boroughs were regarded as having “decayed” due to their voters moving away to other places. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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#2·7h ago

(by extension) A parliamentary constituency or electoral district in a similar situation.

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