a clause in the constitutions of several Southern states that waived electoral literacy requirements for lineal descendants of people voting before 1867, thus ensuring the franchise for illiterate White people: declared unconstitutional in 1915
2.
a clause in legislation that forbids or regulates an activity so that those engaged in it are exempted from the ban
grandfather clause in American English
US
1.
a former law in some Southern states waiving electoral literacy requirements forthose whose forebears voted before the Civil War, thus keeping the franchise for illiterate whites
2.
a clause in some legislation forbidding or regulating a certain activity, which exemptsthose already engaged in it before the legislation was passed