Where does “Liberty” come from?
Liberty (English) comes from Middle English liberte, from Old French liberté, from Latin lībertās, from Latin Līber, from Old Latin loeber, from French lober, from French lob, from English lob — limestone; chalk; the finish line.
Ancestry of “Liberty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | liberte | — |
| 2 | Old French | liberté | — |
| 3 | Latin | lībertās | — |
| 4 | Latin | Līber | — |
| 5 | Old Latin | loeber | — |
| 6 | French | lober | to lob |
| 7 | French | lob | lob |
| 8 | English | lob | To throw or hit a ball into the air in a high... |
| 9 | English | long | Having much distance from one terminating point... |
| 10 | English | longitude | Angular distance measured west or east of the... |
| 11 | Old French | longitude | — |
| 12 | Latin | longitūdō | — |
| 13 | Latin | longus | far, long; extended, prolonged; long; tedious,... |
| 14 | Latin | -ē | — |
| 15 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 16 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 17 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |