n.
- a special right, advantage, or immunity for a particular person.
▸a special benefit or honour.
-
(also absolute privilege)
(especially in a parliamentary context) the right to say or write something without the risk of punishment.
- the right of a lawyer or official to refuse to divulge confidential information.
- chiefly historical a grant of special rights or immunities, especially in the form of a franchise or monopoly.
v.
formal grant a privilege or privileges to.
▸
(usu. be privileged from)
exempt from a liability or obligation.
Etymology
ME: via OFr. from L. privilegium ‘bill or law affecting an individual’, from privus ‘private’ + lex, leg- ‘law’.