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Origin Of The Word Liberal Essay

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The word liberal is thrown around left and right, whether talking politics, art, or describing someone who is, according to the oxford english dictionary “Willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one 's own.” When you hear the word “liberal” what is the initial thought that pops up in your head? According to a few friends the first word or phrase that pops into their head when asked what liberal meant, was “library”, “something to do with politics”, and “I have no idea”. Liberal is thrown around without having any proper context within its sentence that it has developed entirely new meanings. The origin of the word comes from the mid-14c word liberalis meaning,” noble, generous, or pertaining to or benefiting a free person.” Harper, Douglas. “Etymonline.com” 2001-2017. During the early to mid 17th century the word evolved during the enlightenment, a period of scientific and cultural revolution for western land. Liberal referred to"free from prejudice, tolerant, not bigoted or narrow," Harper, Douglas. “Etymonline.com” 2001-2017. Liberal was used to refer to …show more content…

Overtime the word liberal has strayed farther from its political definition and has developed a negative connotation. According to Barry Hampe, ex Republican, now libertarian “Liberal has a negative connotation to conservatives, because it 's the self-identifier of the opposition.” and according to Urban Dictionary it refers to “persons so open minded that their brains have fallen out” or someone who has “abandoned logic and reason, and rely on 'warm fuzzies ' as a sound basis for the making of decisions.” the term liberals meaning varies depending on the political party using it and

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TheFreeDictionary.com. (2017). liberal. [online] Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/liberal [Accessed 31 Mar. 2017].

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