plebiscite Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a question of national importance

WordNet

Pleb"i*scite noun
Etymology
F. plébiscite, fr. L. plebiscitum.
Definitions
  1. A vote by universal male suffrage; especially, in France, a popular vote, as first sanctioned by the National Constitution of 1791. Written also plebiscit.
    Plebiscite we have lately taken, in popular use, from the French. Fitzed. Hall.

Webster 1913