Question of the Day #395

"What is gerrymandering? Supreme Court rules on partisan election maps"
From the headline of this article at USA Today.

上記の文で、gerrymanderの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "gerrymander" mean?

答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、


名詞形
勝手な選挙区改定

他動詞

1. 〔選挙において自党が有利になるように選挙区を〕区割りする
2. 〔規則などを自分に有利なように〕改変する、ごまかす

なお、問題の見出しのように、近年ではgerrymanderingが名詞として使われるようになっています。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. the act or method of gerrymandering
2. a district or pattern of districts varying greatly in size or population as a result of gerrymandering

Etymology/語源

英辞郎によると、

【語源】米国で1812年にマサチューセッツ知事E.Gerryが自分に有利になるように決めた選挙区画の形が火トカゲ（salamander）に似ていたところから、gerry + salamander＝gerrymanderとなった。

According to Merriam-Webster:

Elbridge Gerry + salamander; from the shape of an election district formed during Gerry's governorship of Massachusetts

Examples

• One decision failed to stop the drive toward increasingly partisan gerrymanders, and the other temporarily blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to leverage the decennial United States Census for partisan advantage. — Adam Eichen, The New Republic, "Restoring Democracy is Not Open to Debate," 2 July 2019
• But voters will have more tools and awareness to catch gerrymanders in the act than ever before. — Louise Matsakis, WIRED, "Big Data Supercharged Gerrymandering. It Could Help Stop It, Too," 28 June 2019
• The boundary changes were denounced as blatant gerrymandering.
• A final gerrymandering question can be asked about individual rather than systematic gerrymandering.
• Indeed, this would seem precisely to be the point of much gerrymandering.