referendum

From Latin referendum (“that which ought to be announced”), from refero (“I announce”).

• IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛfəˈɹɛndəm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

referendum (plural referenda or referendums)

1. (politics) A direct popular vote on a proposed law or constitutional amendment. (The adposition on is usually used before the related subject of the vote.)

   Synonym: plebiscite

   • 1975, Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, Informational Bulletin:

     In some cases, a referendum on the proposed bond issue must be held.

   • 2019, Nalini Mohabir, “Renaming the Cook Islands would be a vital step towards true independence”, in Guardian.:

     Although the Cook Islands held a referendum in 1994, when voters rejected a name change, the yearning for a decolonised identity has not disappeared.

2. An action, choice, etc., which is perceived as passing judgment on another matter.

   My father is taking my decision on whether to go to university as a referendum on his performance as a parent, and it's very stressful.

• ad referendum

From Latin referendum.

referendum

1. referendum (in sense: a direct popular vote on a proposed law or constitutional amendment).

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

• IPA^(key): [ˈrɛfɛrɛndum]

referendum n

1. referendum (direct popular vote)

• See oferta

• “referendum”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “referendum”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “referendum”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

From Latin referendum, the neuter gerundive of referre (“to refer”).

• IPA^(key): /rɛfərɛndɔm/, [ʁɛfəˈʁand̥ɔm]

referendum n (singular definite referendummet, plural indefinite referendummer or referenda)

1. referendum (direct popular vote on a proposed law)

• folkeafstemning

From Latin referendum.

• Audio:

  (file)

referendum n (plural referenda or referendums, diminutive referendumpje n)

1. referendum

• → Indonesian: referendum
• → Papiamentu: referendum

From Latin referendum.

referendum (genitive referendumi, partitive referendumit)

1. referendum

   Synonyms: rahvahääletus, rahvaküsitlus

Declension of referendum (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		referendum	referendumid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	referendumi
genitive			referendumite
partitive		referendumit	referendumeid
illative		referendumisse	referendumitesse referendumeisse
inessive		referendumis	referendumites referendumeis
elative		referendumist	referendumitest referendumeist
allative		referendumile	referendumitele referendumeile
adessive		referendumil	referendumitel referendumeil
ablative		referendumilt	referendumitelt referendumeilt
translative		referendumiks	referendumiteks referendumeiks
terminative		referendumini	referendumiteni
essive		referendumina	referendumitena
abessive		referendumita	referendumiteta
comitative		referendumiga	referendumitega

• pseudoreferendum

• plebistsiit

• “referendum”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
• “referendum”, in [ÕS] Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018 [Estonian Spelling Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2018, →ISBN
• referendum in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)

• IPA^(key): /ʁe.fe.ʁɛ̃.dɔm/, /ʁe.fe.ʁɑ̃.dɔm/

• Audio:

  (file)

referendum m (plural referendums or referenda)

1. alternative spelling of référendum

• “referendum”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Borrowed from Dutch referendum, from Latin referendum.

• IPA^(key): /re.fəˈrɛn.dum/, [re.fəˈren.dʊm]
• Rhymes: -dʊm
• Hyphenation: re‧fê‧ren‧dum

refêrendum (plural referendum-referendum)

1. (law, government, politics) referendum: a direct popular vote on a proposed law or constitutional amendment

• “referendum” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

• IPA^(key): /re.feˈrɛn.dum/
• Rhymes: -ɛndum
• Hyphenation: re‧fe‧rèn‧dum

• Audio:

  (file)

referendum m (invariable)

1. referendum

• referendario

referendum m (plural referendums)

1. referendum

referendum

1. inflection of referendus:
   1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular
   2. accusative masculine singular

From English referendum, from Latin referendum (“that which ought to be announced”), from refero (“I announce”).

• IPA^(key): [rɛ.fə.rɛn.dəm]
• Rhymes: -dəm, -əm
• Hyphenation: re‧fe‧ren‧dum

referendum (Jawi spelling ريفريندوم, plural referendum-referendum)

1. (politics) A direct popular vote on a proposed law or constitutional amendment; a referendum.

   Synonym: pungutan suara

• “referendum” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Ultimately from Latin referendum.

• IPA^(key): /rɛ.fɛˈrɛn.dum/

referendum m (plural referenda or referendumijiet)

1. referendum

From Latin referendum.

referendum n (definite singular referendumet, indefinite plural referenda or referendumer, definite plural referendaene or referenduma or referendumene)

1. a referendum

• folkeavstemning

• “referendum” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “referendum” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

From Latin referendum.

referendum n (definite singular referendumet, indefinite plural referendum, definite plural referenduma)

1. a referendum

• folkerøysting

• “referendum” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Learned borrowing from Latin referendum.

• IPA^(key): /rɛ.fɛˈrɛn.dum/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛndum
• Syllabification: re‧fe‧ren‧dum

referendum n (related adjective referendalny or referendowy)

1. (law, politics) referendum (direct popular vote on a proposed law or constitutional amendment)

   Synonym: plebiscyt

   Hypernym: głosowanie

• referendum in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• referendum in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• referendum in PWN's encyclopedia

Borrowed from Latin referendum, French référendum.

• IPA^(key): /re.feˈren.dum/

referendum n (plural referendumuri)

1. referendum

   Synonym: plebiscit

• referendar

• “referendum”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

• IPA^(key): /referěndum/
• Hyphenation: re‧fe‧ren‧dum

referèndum m inan (Cyrillic spelling реферѐндум)

1. referendum

referendum

1. referendum (direct popular vote)

   Synonym: folkomröstning

• referendum in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)