veto
Definitions
General English
- noun a ban or order not to allow something to become law, even if it has been passed by a parliament
Law
- verb to refuse to allow something, especially to use an official power to do so
Politics
- noun the right to refuse to allow something to be accepted or to become law
Origin & History of “veto”
Latin vetō meant ‘I forbid’ (it was the first person present singular of vetāre ‘forbid’, a verb of uncertain origin which may be related to Welsh gwadu ‘deny’). It was used in the Roman senate by tribunes of the people as a formula for objecting to proposals, and it was originally introduced into English as part of the terminology of parliamentary procedure.
