franchise

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A privilege or right granted by law, especially the right to vote in the election of public officials.
• noun A special privilege given by government to a corporation or an individual to engage in a particular activity using public facilities, especially to provide a public service such as transportation or communications.
• noun The establishment of a corporation, including the granting of certain privileges such as exemption from individual liability for the acts of the corporation.
• noun Authorization granted to someone to sell or distribute a company's goods or services in a certain area.
• noun A business or group of businesses established or operated under such authorization.
• noun A brand name under which a series of products is released.
• noun The territory or limits within which immunity, a privilege, or a right may be exercised.
• noun A professional sports team.
• transitive verb To grant a franchise to.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To make free; enfranchise.
• noun A privilege or grant extended by a municipal corporation to a private corporation or person, as the right to maintain a street-railway, to use streets for water- or gas-mains, etc.
• noun Liberty; freedom from constraint or subjection; independence; enfranchisement.
• noun A privilege arising from the grant of a sovereign or government, or from prescription, which presupposes a grant; a privilege of a public nature conferred on individuals by grant from government: as, a corporate franchise (the right to be and act as a corporation).
• noun Specifically, the privilege of voting at public elections; the right of suffrage: distinctively called the elective franchise.
• noun The district or jurisdiction to which a particular individual or corporate privilege extends; the limits of an immunity.
• noun An asylum or sanctuary where persons are secure from arrest.
• noun Nobility of spirit; generosity; highmindedness; magnanimity; liberality.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To make free; to enfranchise; to give liberty to.
• noun obsolete Exemption from constraint or oppression; freedom; liberty.
• noun (LAw) A particular privilege conferred by grant from a sovereign or a government, and vested in individuals; an immunity or exemption from ordinary jurisdiction; a constitutional or statutory right or privilege, esp. the right to vote.
• noun The district or jurisdiction to which a particular privilege extends; the limits of an immunity; hence, an asylum or sanctuary.
• noun obsolete, obsolete Magnanimity; generosity; liberality; frankness; nobility.
• noun the privilege or right of voting in an election of public officers.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb transitive To confer certain powers on; grant a franchise to; authorize.
• verb transitive, rare To set free; invest with a franchise or privilege; enfranchise.
• noun A right or privilege officially granted to a person, a group of people, or a company by a government.
• noun An acknowledgment of a corporation's existence and ownership.
• noun The authorization granted by a company to sell or distribute its goods or services in a certain area.
• noun A business operating under such authorization.
• noun A legal exemption from jurisdiction.
• noun The membership of a corporation or state; citizenship.
• noun The right to vote at a public election.
• noun sports The collection of organizations in the history of a sports team; the tradition of a sports team as an entity, extending beyond the contemporary organization.
• noun business, marketing The positive influence on the buying behavior of customers exerted by the reputation of a company or a brand.
• noun The loose collection of fictional works pertaining to a particular universe, including literary, film, or television series from various sources.
• noun obsolete Magnanimity; generosity; liberality; frankness; nobility.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a statutory right or privilege granted to a person or group by a government (especially the rights of citizenship and the right to vote)
• verb grant a franchise to
• noun an authorization to sell a company's goods or services in a particular place
• noun a business established or operated under an authorization to sell or distribute a company's goods or services in a particular area