The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Franchise \Fran"chise\ (? or ?; 277), n. [F., fr. franc, fem.
   franche, free. See Frank, a.]
   1. Exemption from constraint or oppression; freedom; liberty.
      [Obs.] --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (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.
      [1913 Webster]

            Election by universal suffrage, as modified by the
            Constitution, is the one crowning franchise of the
            American people.                      --W. H.
                                                  Seward.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. The district or jurisdiction to which a particular
      privilege extends; the limits of an immunity; hence, an
      asylum or sanctuary.
      [1913 Webster]

            Churches and mobasteries in Spain are franchises for
            criminals.                            --London
                                                  Encyc.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Magnanimity; generosity; liberality; frankness; nobility.
      "Franchise in woman." [Obs.] --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

   Elective franchise, the privilege or right of voting in an
      election of public officers.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Franchise \Fran"chise\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Franchised; p. pr.
   & vb. n. Franchising.] [Cf. OF. franchir to free, F., to
   cross.]
   To make free; to enfranchise; to give liberty to. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

franchise
    n 1: an authorization to sell a company's goods or services in a
         particular place
    2: a business established or operated under an authorization to
       sell or distribute a company's goods or services in a
       particular area [syn: franchise, dealership]
    3: a statutory right or privilege granted to a person or group
       by a government (especially the rights of citizenship and the
       right to vote) [syn: franchise, enfranchisement]
    v 1: grant a franchise to

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

105 Moby Thesaurus words for "franchise":
   Australian ballot, Hare system, affranchise, authorize, aye,
   ballot, blank check, brevet, canvass, canvassing, carte blanche,
   casting vote, certificate, certify, charter, concession, copyright,
   counting heads, cumulative voting, deciding vote, diploma,
   diplomatic immunity, discharge, dispensation, division, empower,
   enable, enfranchise, enfranchisement, entitle, exception,
   exemption, fagot vote, favor, female suffrage, freedom,
   give official sanction, give power, grant, graveyard vote,
   hand vote, household franchise, immunity, indulgence, legalize,
   legislative immunity, legitimize, letters patent, liberty, license,
   list system, manhood suffrage, nay, no, nontransferable vote,
   patent, permission, plebiscite, plebiscitum, plumper, plural vote,
   poll, polling, preferential voting, privilege,
   proportional representation, proxy, ratify, record vote,
   referendum, release, representation, right to vote, rising vote,
   royal grant, sanction, say, secret ballot, show of hands,
   single vote, snap vote, special favor, straw vote, suffrage,
   suffragette, suffragettism, suffragism, suffragist, the vote,
   transferable vote, universal suffrage, validate, viva voce, voice,
   voice vote, vote, voting, voting right, warrant, woman-suffragist,
   write-in, write-in vote, yea, yeas and nays, yes



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

FRANCHISE. This word has several significations: 1. It is a right reserved
to the people by the constitution; hence we say, the elective franchise, to
designate the right of the people to elect their officers. 2. It is a
certain privilege, conferred by grant from the government, and Vested in
individuals.
     2. Corporations, or bodies politic, are the most usual franchises known
to our law. They have been classed among incorporeal hereditaments, perhaps
improperly, as they have no inheritable quality.
     3. In England, franchises are very numerous; they, are said to be royal
privileges in the hands of a subject. Vide 3 Kent, Com. 366; 2 Bouv. Inst.
n. 1686; Cruise,' Dig. tit. 27; 2 Bl. Com. 37; 15 Serg. & Rawle, 130; Finch,
164.