liberty definition - Dictionary

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	Liberal

	liberal

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liberty

lib·er·ty [ líbbərtee ] (plural lib·er·ties)

noun

Definition:

1. right to choose: the freedom to think or act without being constrained by necessity or force

2. freedom: freedom from captivity or slavery

3. basic right: a political, social, and economic right that belongs to the citizens of a state or to all people ( often used in the plural )

4. breach of etiquette: an action or remark that violates the polite distance usually left between people and that may strike the person at whom it is directed as insultingly familiar

5. navy leave from navy: a short authorized leave from naval duties

[14th century. Via French< Latin libertas< liber "free"]

at liberty

1. free or freed after a period of imprisonment or other constraint

2. free or allowed to do something

take liberties with somebody to behave inappropriately toward somebody, especially by way of excessive familiarity or sometimes sexual harassment (disapproving)

take liberties with something to be deliberately inaccurate when dealing with facts (disapproving)

take the liberty to be bold enough to do something, sometimes without permission

Cultural Note


	On Liberty, an essay (1859) by British philosopher John Stuart Mill. A work that has inspired civil libertarians around the world, it examines the relationship between the rights of the individual and the power of the state. Mill argues for freedom of thought and expression, asserting that the only valid restrictions on the rights of individuals are those that protect the rights of others.

Cultural Note


	Liberty Leading the People, a painting (1830) by French artist Eugène Delacroix. Inspired by a scene witnessed by Delacroix during the antimonarchist uprisings in Paris in 1830, this mixture of allegory and realism shows a young woman leading a ragged band of rebels over razed barricades. Delacroix's declaration of solidarity with the revolutionary cause is also a powerful symbol of freedom and the struggle against oppression. The painting is sometimes called Liberty on the Barricades.