Coined in 1812 and infrequently used except in politics.
At the time the Massachusetts legislature ingeniously contrived to rearrange the shape of Essex County so as to better control
elections. When they got through with their redistribution it
was noticed that this county resembled a salamander. The governor of the state at that time was Elbridge Gerry and a smart newspaper editor used his surname and the last half of salamander to create gerrymander. Such a redistribution of boundries today for the purpose of political advantages is still called gerrymandering.