Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⚖️ US equal rights law 🗽 US citizenship law
Fourteenth Amendment

Fourteenth Amendment

6.0
A U.S. constitutional change that gives citizenship and equal protection to people born or naturalized in the United States
  • noun
  • /ˈfɔrˌθinθ əˈmɛndmənt/
  • Formal
translation icon : Decimocuarta Enmienda
  • The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868.

Examples

  • Debates about due process often involve interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

  • After the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment established the principle of equal protection under the law.

  • The Fourteenth Amendment is frequently cited in court cases involving civil rights.

  • Many argue that the Fourteenth Amendment is vital for civil rights.

  • The Fourteenth Amendment ensures that everyone born in the United States receives full citizenship rights.

  • Thanks to the Fourteenth Amendment, all persons born in the U.S. are protected equally under the law.

  • The principles outlined in the Fourteenth Amendment have played a crucial role in advancing civil rights in America.

Surface Forms

Fourteenth Amendment singular
Fourteenth Amendments plural

Morphology

fourteenth + amendment

The phrase transparently denotes the amendment numbered 14 because 'fourteenth' (ordinal) + 'amendment' (a modification to a law) make clear it is the 14th amendment to a legal document. However, the specific legal content and historical significance (citizenship and equal protection under the U.S. Constitution) cannot be derived from the parts alone and requires background knowledge, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Fourteenth Amendment refers to the 14th change added to the United States Constitution after the Civil War. The new amendment acted like a legal shield by giving 'citizenship' to people born or made citizens in the country and by requiring states to offer 'equal protection', which is why the name points to those protections today.