privilege

See also: Privilege and privilège

English

Alternative forms

• priviledg, priviledge (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English privilege, from Anglo-Norman privilege and Old French privilege, from Latin prīvilēgium (“ordinance or law against or in favor of an individual”), from prīvus (“private”) + lēx, lēg- (“law”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɪv(ɪ)lɪdʒ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: priv‧i‧lege

Noun

privilege (countable and uncountable, plural privileges)

1. (ecclesiastical law, now chiefly historical) An exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope. [from 8th c.]
2. (countable) A particular benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity enjoyed by some but not others; a prerogative, preferential treatment. [from 10th c.]

   All first-year professors here must teach four courses a term, yet you're only teaching one! What entitled you to such a privilege?

3. An especially rare or fortunate opportunity; the good fortune (to do something). [from 14th c.]
   • 2012, The Observer, letter, 29 April:

     I had the privilege to sit near him in the House for a small part of his Commons service and there was an additional device provided to aid his participation in debates.

4. (uncountable) The fact of being privileged; the status or existence of (now especially social or economic) benefit or advantage within a given society. [from 14th c.]
   • c. 1390, Geoffrey Chaucer, Melibeus:

     He is worthy to lesen his priuilege that mysvseth the myght and the power that is yeuen hym.

   • 1938, George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia:

     In that community where no one was on the make, where there was a shortage of everything but no privilege and no boot-licking, one got, perhaps, a crude forecast of what the opening stages of Socialism might be like.

   • 2013, The Guardian, 21 Oct, (headline):

     South Africa's 'miracle transition' has not put an end to white privilege.

5. A right or immunity enjoyed by a legislative body or its members. [from 16th c.]
   • 2001, The Guardian, leader, 1 May:

     Dr Grigori Loutchansky is – according to a congressman speaking under congressional privilege – a "purported Russian mob figure".

6. (countable, US, finance, now rare) A stock market option. [from 19th c.]
7. (law) A common law doctrine that protects certain communications from being used as evidence in court.

   Your honor, my client is not required to answer that; her response is protected by attorney-client privilege.

8. (computing) An ability to perform an action on the system that can be selectively granted or denied to users; permission.

Synonyms

• (right or immunity not enjoyed by others): freelage
• (finance):
• (law):
• (computing):

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. Use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}} to add them to the appropriate sense(s).

• prerogative, immunity, freelage, franchise, right, claim, liberty, advantage, foredeal

Derived terms

• cisprivilege

Translations

exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope

• Finnish: erioikeus (fi)
• Italian: privilegio (it) m

• Serbo-Croatian: privilegija (sh) f

particular benefit, advantage, or favor

• Arabic: اِمْتِيَاز‏‎ m (imtiyāz)
• Azeri: imtiyaz (az)
• Bengali: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: privilegi (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 特權 (zh), 特权 (zh) (tèquán)

• Czech: výsada f, privilegium (cs) n
• Dutch: voorrecht (nl) n, privilege (nl) n
• Esperanto: privilegio (eo)
• Finnish: erioikeus (fi), erivapaus, etuoikeus (fi)
• French: privilège (fr) m
• German: Privileg (de) n, Vergünstigung (de)
• Greek: προνόμιο (el) n (pronómio)
• Hebrew: פְּרִיבִילֶגְיָה‏‎ (he) f (privilégya), זְכוּת יֶתֶר‏‎ f (zchut yéter)
• Hungarian: előny (hu)

• Ido: privilejo (io)
• Italian: privilegio (it) m, prerogativa (it) f
• Japanese: 特権 (ja) (とっけん, tokken)
• Khmer: សិទ្ធិ (km) (səttʰi’)
• Korean: 특권 (ko) (teukgwon) (特權 (ko))
• Polish: przywilej (pl) m
• Portuguese: privilégio (pt) m
• Romanian: privilegiu (ro) n
• Russian: привиле́гия (ru) f (privilégija), льго́та (ru) f (lʹgóta)
• Serbo-Croatian: privilegija (sh) f, privilegij (sh) m, povlastica (sh) f
• Spanish: privilegio (es) m
• Swedish: privilegium (sv)
• Telugu: ప్రత్యేక హక్కు (pratyēka hakku)
• Turkish: ayrıcalık (tr), imtiyaz (tr), torpil (tr), kıyak (tr)
• Vietnamese: đặc quyền

rare or fortunate opportunity

• Finnish: etuoikeus (fi), harvinainen onni

status or existence of privileges

• Finnish: etuoikeudet pl, erioikeudet pl

right or immunity enjoyed by a legislative body

• Finnish: koskemattomuus (fi)

finance: stock market option

• Finnish: optio-oikeus

legal doctrine

• Finnish: luottamuksellisuuss

• Romanian: privilegiu (ro) n, drept (ro) n

computing: selectively granted ability

• Finnish: käyttöoikeus (fi)

Verb

privilege (third-person singular simple present privileges, present participle privileging, simple past and past participle privileged)

1. (archaic) To grant some particular right or exemption to; to invest with a peculiar right or immunity; to authorize

   to privilege representatives from arrest

2. (archaic) To bring or put into a condition of privilege or exemption from evil or danger; to exempt; to deliver.

Translations

to grant some particular right or exemption to

• Finnish: myöntää erioikeus; vapauttaa (fi), myöntää erivapaus (to grant exemption)
• French: privilégier (fr)
• German: privilegieren (de)

• Portuguese: privilegiar
• Serbo-Croatian: privilegirati (sh)
• Spanish: privilegiar (es)

to bring or put into a condition of privilege or exemption from evil or danger

• German: privilegieren (de)
• Portuguese: privilegiar

• Serbo-Croatian: povlastiti
• Spanish: privilegiar (es)

Related terms

• allege

---

Old French

Noun

privilege m (oblique plural privileges, nominative singular privileges, nominative plural privilege)

1. privilege (benefit only given to certain people)

Descendants

• English: privilege (borrowed)
• Middle French: privilege
  • French: privilège

References

• (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (privilege, supplement)