ETYM Latin, from eligere: cf. French électeur.
(German Kurfürst) Any of originally seven (later ten) princes of the Holy Roman Empire who had the prerogative of electing the emperor (in effect, the king of Germany). The electors were the archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne, the court palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and the king of Bohemia (in force to 1806). Their constitutional status was formalized 1356 in the document known as the Golden Bull, which granted them extensive powers within their own domains, to act as judges, issue coins, and impose tolls.
1. One who elects, or has the right of choice; a person who is entitled to take part in an election, or to give his vote; voter.
2. Specifically, in any country, a person legally qualified to vote.
3. In the old German empire, one of the princes entitled to choose the emperor.