Added 9 October 2026
libertarian
/ˌlɪbəˈtɛə̯ɹi.ən/ noun
Latin root: libertas First recorded: 1789 Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about libertarian at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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One who advocates liberty, either generally or in relation to a specific issue.
civil libertarian
- A believer in the freedom of thinking beings to choose their own destiny (the doctrine of free will) as opposed to those who believe the future is predetermined (the doctrine of necessity). .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
- One who advocates libertarianism (“a political philosophy maintaining that all persons are the absolute owners of their own lives, and should be free to do whatever they wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others that same liberty”); also, a member of a political party supporting libertarianism.
adjective
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Advocating liberty; also, having a relative tendency towards liberty.
He has libertarian views.
- Relating to the doctrine of free will as opposed to the doctrine of necessity.
-
Relating to, or advocating, libertarianism; also, relating to a political party supporting libertarianism.
a libertarian capitalist
Origin
The noun is derived from liber(ty) + -arian (suffix denoting an advocate of or believer in something). The adjective is derived from the noun. sense development The word was first attested in English in 1789 in William Belsham’s Essays: see the quotation. This was contrasted with necessitarian, in the context of free will, and was not used in the more frequently encountered modern sense. Compare French libertaire (“person with extreme left-wing beliefs, anarchist”), from liberté (“freedom”) + -aire (suffix forming nouns). Libertaire is derived from Latin libertas.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)