referendum

Referendum in Latin is the gerundive of referre (to carry back, to refer), meaning 'a thing that must be referred.' The word was first used in Swiss political practice in the sixteenth century. Swiss cantons developed the referendum as a mechanism for popular ratification — the cantonal government would make a proposal and refer it to the citizens for approval. The word described the act of carrying the question back to the source of sovereignty.

The Swiss referendum system, formalized in the Federal Constitution of 1848, became the model for direct democracy worldwide. Any federal law can be challenged by referendum if 50,000 signatures are collected within 100 days. Constitutional amendments require a mandatory referendum. Switzerland votes on referendums roughly four times per year. The word 'referendum' is Swiss in practice even though it is Latin in form.

Brexit — the United Kingdom's 2016 referendum on European Union membership — demonstrated both the power and the problems of referendums. A narrow 51.9% majority voted to leave. The result was binding in political reality (though technically advisory in law). The consequences — economic disruption, the Irish border problem, Scottish independence pressure — were not on the ballot. The referendum asked a simple question. The answer was simple. Nothing else about it was.

The plural of referendum has been debated. 'Referenda' follows Latin rules. 'Referendums' follows English rules. Both are used. The debate is itself a referendum on whether English should defer to Latin grammar or govern itself — a linguistic version of the political question the word names.