It is closely related to agenda, "those matters which must be driven forward", from , to impel or drive forward; and memorandum, "that matter which must be remembered", from , to call to mind, corrigenda, from , to rule, make straight, those things which must be made straight (corrected), etc.

The term 'plebiscite' has a generally similar meaning in modern usage and comes from the Latin plebiscita, which originally meant