Etymologically
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privilege

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɹɪv.(ɪ.)lɪd͡ʒ/ (UK); /ˈpɹɪv.ɪ.lɪd͡ʒ/, /ˈpɹɪv.ə.lɪd͡ʒ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French privilege (“right, priority, privilege”) and directly borrowed from Latin prīvilēgium (“a law applying to one person; prerogative”),[2][3][4][5] from privus (“individual, private”) and lex (“law”) (stem leg-).[4][6][5] The word appears in Old English, but as a Latin word.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A grant or commission: 1137, in the Peterborough Chronicle, in Barnhart, the mid-12th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In Latin it was a law in favour of or against one person, and later, in the post-Augustan period, an ordinance exempting one person from a law.[3] In English a right or advantage granted to a person or group is from before 1154,[7] a special advantage or benefit from about 1230,[7] and a special right or favour in the Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340).[2] A privileged position is from 1390.[7] The verb, to invest with a privilege, is from the late 14th century,[3][5] and in recent academic use, to treat one thing as more important than another.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1137 – a grant, licence.[2]
  • c. 1230 – a special advantage.[7]
  • late 14th century – the verb.[3]
  • 1390 – a privileged position.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A special right, advantage or immunity granted to a person or group.
  2. The advantages enjoyed by wealthy or powerful people.
  3. Something regarded as a rare opportunity: it was a privilege to meet her.
  4. (law) The right to say or write things without being liable to legal action, as in parliament.

Verb

  1. To grant a privilege to.
  2. To give special status or importance to.

Word family

  • privileger
  • executive privilege
  • Pauline privilege
  • water privilege

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins