libertarian
nounEtymology
The noun is derived from liber(ty) + -arian (suffix denoting an advocate of or believer in something). The adjective is derived from the noun. sense development The word was first attested in English in 1789 in William Belsham’s Essays: see the quotation. This was contrasted with necessitarian, in the context of free will, and was not used in the more frequently encountered modern sense. Compare French libertaire (“person with extreme left-wing beliefs, anarchist”), from liberté (“freedom”) + -aire (suffix forming nouns). Libertaire is derived from Latin libertas. The French word was first attested in a May 1857 letter by the French anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque (1821–1865) to the anarchist philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865), reading: “Anarchiste juste-milieu, libéral et non LIBERTAIRE [A centrist anarchist, liberal and not LIBERTARIAN] […]”. It was popularized as a euphemism for anarchiste in the 1890s, following the French lois scélérates (literally “villainous laws”) under which anarchist publications were banned. Sense 3.2 (“believer in right-libertarianism”) developed in the United States in the 1940s and was popularized in the 1950s. In the 1940s, Leonard Read (1898–1983), the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, a free-market think tank, began calling himself “libertarian” in contrast with a “classical liberal”. In 1955, Dean Russell also promoted the use of the word, writing: “Let those of us who love liberty trade-mark and reserve for our own use the good and honorable word ‘libertarian’.”
Definitions
One who advocates liberty, either generally or in relation to a specific issue.
- civil libertarian
- cultural libertarian
A believer in the freedom of thinking beings to choose their own destiny (the doctrine of…
A believer in the freedom of thinking beings to choose their own destiny (the doctrine of free will) as opposed to those who believe the future is predetermined (the doctrine of necessity).
One who advocates libertarianism (“a political philosophy maintaining that all persons…
One who advocates libertarianism (“a political philosophy maintaining that all persons are the absolute owners of their own lives, and should be free to do whatever they wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others that same liberty”); also, a member of a political party supporting libertarianism.
- While anarchism and socialist libertarians have a rich history of revolutionary thinkers ranging from Emma Goldman to George Orwell, the best-known socialist libertarian thinker of today is probably Noam Chomsky.
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An Araucarian.
Advocating liberty
Advocating liberty; also, having a relative tendency towards liberty.
- He has libertarian views.
Relating to the doctrine of free will as opposed to the doctrine of necessity.
Relating to, or advocating, libertarianism
Relating to, or advocating, libertarianism; also, relating to a political party supporting libertarianism.
- a libertarian capitalist
Araucarian.
A member of a political party or movement that uses the term "Libertarian" in its name…
A member of a political party or movement that uses the term "Libertarian" in its name (e.g., the Libertarian Party of the United States); one who is likely to support policies that are libertarian.
- To many, it seemed that the Libertarians were a genuinely relevant third party in US politics, which is overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans and Democrats.
Of, or pertaining to, a Libertarian Party.
- The results also revealed a striking data point: Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen’s share of the vote in some of these states was higher than margins between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
The neighborhood
Derived
anarcho-libertarian, civil libertarian, conservatarian, cyberlibertarian, geolibertarian, glibertarian, left-libertarian, libertard, libertardian, libertarianish, libertarianism, libertarianize, libertoon, libertopia, libertopian, libertopic, libertopist, libtard, lolbertarian, right-libertarian, small l libertarian, small-l libertarian, small libertarian, antilibertarian, liberaltarian, loonytarian, nonlibertarian, illibertarian, libertarian communism, libertarian communist, libertarian Marxism, libertarian Marxist, libertarian parties, libertarian party, libertarian socialism, libertarian socialist, paleolibertarian, unlibertarian
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for libertarian. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA