privilege

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
And once they've saved someone, the privilege is available to no one else.

View all »
Definitions (44)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. noun A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste. See Synonyms at right.
  2. noun Such an advantage, immunity, or right held as a prerogative of status or rank, and exercised to the exclusion or detriment of others.
  3. noun The principle of granting and maintaining a special right or immunity: a society based on privilege.
4 more from this dictionary »

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (31)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (4)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • He controlled the trade routes to and from Mer population centers, and those who paid for the privilege were allowed to move and sell their goods unmolested. —  SCOTT McGOUGH
  • This privilege is as good as telling the world that I might not be a Bowman's Ridge Native, but I was one of the Transients they could take out of the attic on visiting days to show the neighbors. —  F ;SF; - vol 096 issue 01 - January 1999
  • We rejoice that this privilege is ours and aim to make the most of it. —  Possessing the Treasure
  • The current scope of the privilege is also unjustified on pragmatic grounds. —  FindLaw Writ - Recent Articles
  • It is not merely specific documents, but entire lawsuits, that must be dismissed in advance as soon as the privilege is asserted because "its very subject matter would inherently risk or require the disclosure of state secrets." —  Liblogs.ca latest blog entries
More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 296 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old French, from Latin prīvilēgium, a law affecting one person : prīvus, single, alone; see per1 in Indo-European roots + lēx, lēg-, law; see leg- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also priviledge; from Middle English privilege, prevelache, from Old French privilege, French privilége = Spanish Portuguese Italian privilegio, from Latin privilegium, an ordinance in favor of an individual, prerogative, from privus, one's own, private, peculiar, + lex, law: see private and legal.
  2. Formerly also priviledge; from Old French privelegir, French privilégier = Spanish Portuguese privilegiar = Italian privilegiare, from Middle Latin privilegiare, privilege, approve, from Latin privilegium, privilege: see privilege, n.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈprɪvɪlɛdʒ/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word a few times a week.

Recently looked up

chak · cassette · proficient · telluride · hookey

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

nasal · autotruncate · rimshot · qualms · poofter