filibuster

C2+ Topic:Communication

US /ˈfɪləˌbʌstɚ/ UK /ˈfɪlɪbʌstə/ See IPA manual

noun verb

Meanings

1

noun
a prolonged speech used to obstruct a legislative vote

The senator launched a filibuster to delay the bill.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a prolonged speech used to... obstructionstonewallingdelay stall freebooter buccaneer

Word family

Derived forms filibustererfilibustering

Related forms freebooter

Etymology

From Spanish filibustero ('freebooter, pirate'), from French flibustier, ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter ('freebooter'), from vrij ('free') + buit ('booty'); the legislative sense arose in nineteenth-century America.

vrijbuiter Dutch

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication Word Formation & Derivatives

# filibuster

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈfɪləˌbʌstɚ
**IPA (UK):** ˈfɪlɪbʌstə

## Meanings
1. a prolonged speech used to obstruct a legislative vote

## Examples
- The senator launched a filibuster to delay the bill.

## Synonyms
- obstruction
- stonewalling
- delay
- stall
- freebooter
- buccaneer

## Derived Forms
- filibusterer
- filibustering

## Related Forms
- freebooter

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vrijbuiter

## Etymology
From Spanish filibustero ('freebooter, pirate'), from French flibustier, ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter ('freebooter'), from vrij ('free') + buit ('booty'); the legislative sense arose in nineteenth-century America.

## AI Etymology
Filibuster comes from Spanish filibustero ('freebooter, pirate'), from French flibustier, ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter ('freebooter'), from vrij ('free') + buit ('booty'); the legislative sense arose in nineteenth-century America. Morphologically, the form is compositional, with the named elements combining to produce the modern spelling and sense. In present use, it is used as a noun and verb meaning "a prolonged speech used to obstruct a legislative vote", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as filibusterer and filibustering and related forms such as freebooter, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Dutch vrijbuiter, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes obstruction, stonewalling, delay, and stall, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Communication
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown

filibuster

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback