Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “liberalism” come from?

Liberalism derives from French libéralisme, formed from Latin liberalis meaning free or noble, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European lewbʰ- meaning to pour or break apart.

liberalism (English): The quality of being liberal; Any political...

Definitions

  1. The quality of being liberal; Any political...

Ancestry of “liberalism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchlibéralismeliberalism
2Frenchlibérallibertarian, liberal; Libertarian, Liberal
3Old Frenchliberalappropriate for a free person; generous; giving
4Latinlīberālis—
5LatinLīber—
6Old Latinloeber—
7Frenchloberto lob
8Frenchloblob
9EnglishlobTo throw or hit a ball into the air in a high...
10EnglishlongHaving much distance from one terminating point...
11EnglishlongitudeAngular distance measured west or east of the...
12Old Frenchlongitude—
13Latinlongitūdō—
14Latinlongusfar, long; extended, prolonged; long; tedious,...
15Latin-ē—
16Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
17Latincalceusshoe
18Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
19Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

Words derived from “liberalism”

  • neoliberalism
  • antiliberalism
  • ultraliberalism
  • palaeoliberalism
  • paleoliberalism
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ →