ETYM French plébiscite, from Latin plebiscitum.
A vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a question of national importance.
Referendum or direct vote by all the electors of a country or district on a specific question. Since the 18th century plebiscites have been employed on many occasions to decide to what country a particular area should belong; for example, in Upper Silesia and elsewhere after World War I, and in the Saar 1935.
The term fell into disuse during the 1930s, after the widespread abuse by the Nazis in Germany to legitimize their regime. + prikaži više