Gerrymandering
Etymology
A portmanteau of "Gerry" and "salamander," coined by the Boston Gazette in 1812 after Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting bill producing a district so contorted it resembled the mythical lizard. An eponym born as mockery, it hardened into the standard term of art for the practice worldwide.
noun · /JERR-ee-man-dur-ing/
Drawing electoral district boundaries to entrench one party or group at the expense of fair representation.
What it names
The precise handle for how the shape of a map — not just the votes cast — can decide who wins, letting politicians pick their voters rather than the reverse.
Example
Even after the party lost the statewide popular vote, aggressive gerrymandering handed it a comfortable majority of the seats.
Related idea
Distinct from malapportionment, where districts simply hold unequal numbers of people; gerrymandering keeps the populations equal but rigs the borders around who lives where.