entry
filibuster
/ˈfɪlɪˌbʌstər/Obstructive legislative delay; formerly, a pirate or adventurer
From Dutch vrij (free) + Dutch, from Middle Low German büte buit (booty).
from Dutch vrijbueter (now vrijbuiter ) "freebooter," a word which was used of pirates in the West Indies in Spanish (...
+1 more sourcefrom French flibustier, ultimately
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
from Dutch vrijbuiter (“freebooter”)
from French flibustier, ultimately
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
Word Ancestry
from Dutch vrijbueter (now vrijbuiter ) "freebooter," a word which was used of pirates in the West Indies in Spanish (...
+1 more sourcefrom French flibustier, ultimately
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
from Dutch vrijbuiter (“freebooter”)
from French flibustier, ultimately
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”)
Before filibusters were menacing senators, they were menacing ships. The word probably began in Dutch as vrijbuiter—literally a “free” taker of “booty”—and then sailed through French flibustier and Spanish filibustero, languages that bent its sounds in transit. By the 1580s, English was using it for a West Indian pirate; centuries later, in 1851, it was applied to American adventurers such as William Walker, who tried to seize territory in Central America with private armies. Then the pirate metaphor walked into Congress: by the nineteenth century, a legislator could “filibuster” by hijacking the chamber’s time and preventing the normal decision. A senator talking a bill to death is therefore not merely delaying—it is, etymologically, raiding the proceedings for political booty.
The Story
Before filibusters were menacing senators, they were menacing ships. The word probably began in Dutch as vrijbuiter—literally a “free” taker of “booty”—and then sailed through French flibustier and Spanish filibustero, languages that bent its sounds in transit. By the 1580s, English was using it for a West Indian pirate; centuries later, in 1851, it was applied to American adventurers such as William Walker, who tried to seize territory in Central America with private armies. Then the pirate metaphor walked into Congress: by the nineteenth century, a legislator could “filibuster” by hijacking the chamber’s time and preventing the normal decision. A senator talking a bill to death is therefore not merely delaying—it is, etymologically, raiding the proceedings for political booty.
Modern Usage
To deliberately obstruct or delay legislation, often by prolonged debate.
Popularized by: U.S. Senate usage
Notable References
- talking a bill to death
- nuclear option
Kin & Kindred
From 'vrij'·free; independent of ordinary authority
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'buit'·booty; plunder
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia