Where does “liberal” come from?
liberal (Romanian) 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 (Romanian): liberal
Definitions
- liberal
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 | freedom |
| 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 | length, longitude; longness |
| 13 | Latin | longus | far, long; extended, prolonged; long; tedious,... |
| 14 | Latin | -ē | ly; used to form adverbs from adjectives |
| 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 |