As a noun, a veto is the power or act of rejecting a decision or law so that it cannot take effect. As a verb, to veto means to use that power to block something from happening.
From Latin 'veto', meaning 'I forbid', the first-person form of 'vetare' meaning 'to forbid'. The term entered political language to describe a leader’s power to stop a decision.
A veto is literally someone in power saying, ‘I forbid it,’ in Latin. It’s one of the strongest political moves because it doesn’t need to propose anything new—just stopping others is enough. The word shows how saying ‘no’ can shape history as much as saying ‘yes’.
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