filibuster

The story

1. Dutch · derived fromvrijbuiter“freebooter”
2. French · derived fromflibustier
3. Spanish · borrowed fromfilibustero“pirate”
4. English todayfilibuster

Borrowed from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”), from French flibustier, ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter (“freebooter”), from vrij (“free”) + buit (“booty”) + -er (“agent”). The alteration in the first syllable in French is due to the word's being somewhat conflated with vlieboot (“light, flat-bottomed cargo vessel with two or three masts”) when it was borrowed into French or another language from Dutch. The word is cognate and analogous to English freebooter.

Words from the same roots