Where does “liberal” come from?
liberal (German) comes from French libéral, from Old French liberal, from Latin līberālis, from Latin Līber, from Old Latin loeber, from French lober, from French lob, from English lob — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
liberal (German): liberal; permissive; allowing personal freedoms;...
Definitions
- liberal; permissive; allowing personal freedoms;...
Ancestry of “liberal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | libéral | libertarian, liberal; Libertarian, Liberal |
| 2 | Old French | liberal | appropriate for a free person; generous; giving |
| 3 | Latin | līberālis | — |
| 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 |
| 18 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
Words derived from “liberal”