From: Joshua F. McMichael (joshua@jmcmichael.com)
Date: Fri Jul 25 1997 - 09:45:22 MDT
>Michael M. Butler wrote:
>
> Can someone with an OED handy please give me its citation for the word
> "libertarian" as it first appeared in print? The OED frequently (always?)
> cites first use, author and year.
>From the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, 2d ed.
>libertarian:
>...2. One who approves of or advocates liberty.
>1878 Seeley Stein III. [doesn't give anything else].
>1901 F.W. Maitland in English History Review July 419. ...In such
>matters Englishmen are individualists and libertarians. The picture of
>an editor defending his proof sheets ... before an official board of
>critics is not to our liking.
>There's other cites from 1906, 1966, 1969, and 1972.
>The archaism "libertine" may in certain contexts be synonomous with
>"libertarian." I think this word is much, much older -- Roman Empire or
>thereabouts.
This is from the ever-so-handy Dictionary of Word Origins (it's for the word 'liberal' - but liberal and libertarian are obviously etymologically related):
"liberal [14] The Latin word for 'free' was _liber_. It came from the same prehistoric source as Greek _eleútheros_ 'free,' which may have denoted 'people, nation' (in which case the underlying etymological meaning of the word would be 'being a member of the (free) people,' as opposed to 'being a slave'). From _liber_ was derived _liberalis_ 'of freedom,' which passed into English via Old French _liberal_. Its earliest English meanings were 'generous' and 'appropriate to the cultural pursuits of a 'free' 'man' (as in 'the liberal arts'). The connotations of 'tolerance' and 'lack of prejudice' did not emerge until the 18th centure, and the word's use as a designation of a particular political party in Britain dates from the early 19th century.
"Also from Latin _liber_ come English _libertine_ [14] and _liberty_ [14]."
The number in brackets indicates the century of the word's first use. [14] means the word was first used in the 14th century.
Josh
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