Word of the Day：December 27, 2020

franchise

特許經營；特權；特許經營權

noun FRAN-chyze

Definition

1 a ： the right or license granted to an individual or group to market a company's goods or services in a particular territory; also ： a business granted such a right or license

授予個人或團體在特定地區銷售公司的商品或服務的權利或許可；也可以用：被授予的一些權利或被授予許可的公司。

b ：a constitutional or statutory right or privilege; especially : the right to vote

憲法或法定權利或特權； 特別是：投票權

2 a ：the right of membership in a professional sports league

職業體育聯盟的會員資格

b ： a team and its operating organization having such membership

具有獲取成員資格的團隊及獲取運營資格的組織

3 ： a series of related works (such as novels or films) each of which includes the same characters or different characters that are understood to exist and interact in the same fictional universe with characters from the other works

表一系列相關的作品（例如小說或電影），每個作品都包含相同或不同的角色，這些角色被理解為存在於同一個虛構的宇宙並可以與其他作品中的角色互動

4 ： freedom or immunity from some burden or restriction vested in a person or group

自由權或是豁免權在個人或團體中不必承受負擔及限制

Examples

"The primary elections won't be decided for another month, but Laramie County residents can start casting their votes Friday. Here’s a rundown of how to exercise your franchise, courtesy of Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee…." — Austin Huguelet, The Wyoming Tribune Eagle, 5 July 2018

初選將不會確定於下個月，但是拉勒米縣的居民可以在週五開始投票。 這是在Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee 下如何使用您的選舉票的摘要。”

"Star Wars fans who can't get enough of the franchise may have just gotten the early Christmas present of their dreams, as Disney unveiled a whopping slate of 10 new Star Wars television series coming to Disney+ over the next two years, including some based around characters that are already fan favorites." — Nicholas Reimann, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2020

迪士尼公司釋出了歡愉星球大戰的特許經營權，對於星球大戰粉絲來說是一份夢寐以求的聖誕節大禮，迪斯尼公司表示將花費鉅額購買10部新星球大戰的電視劇，於未來兩年在Disney+系列上推出，其中包括一些粉絲最愛的角色

Did You Know?

Franchise was voted into early 14th-century English as both a noun and verb. It is from the Anglo-French verb franchir, meaning "to free," itself from franc, "free." To be perfectly frank, the word franchise is most often encountered today with reference to restaurant chains or professional sports teams (e.g., "a franchise quarterback"), not to mention branded retail stores and sequel-driven movies and novels. These commercial meanings are far from the original meaning of the word in English: "freedom or immunity from some burden or restriction vested in a person or group." This meaning evolved into the "right to vote" sense of the word.

14世紀初英語franchise即被用作名詞又被用作動詞。 它來自盎格魯-法語動詞franchir，其含義是“to free「擺脫」”，franchir則來自franc，“free「自由」”。 坦率地說，“franchise「特許經營」”一詞在今天最常見的是餐廳連鎖店或專業運動隊（例如“a franchise quaterback「特許四分衛」”），更不用說品牌零售店和續集電影和小說了。 這些商業含義與英文單詞的原始含義相去甚遠：“freedom or immunity from some burden or restriction vested in a person or group。” 這個含義演變出“right to vote「投票權」”一詞。

Test Your Vocabulary

What is a 7-letter word for a document that describes the basic laws, principles, etc., of a group (as in "the United Nations _______")?