filibuster

• n. 海盗；暴兵，掠夺兵；阻挠议事的议员；阻挠议事的行动
• vt. 阻碍议案通过
• vi. 掠夺；阻饶议事

来自freebooter的拼写变体词，海盗。后在19世纪末用于美国国会议员冗长演讲，以阻挠议案通过，即如同海盗抢劫。更多参照bunk, 废话，胡说。

1. a legislator who gives long speeches in an effort to delay or obstruct legislation that he (or she) opposes

2. a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches

filibuster

filibuster: [16] Filibuster and freebooter [16] are doublets: that is to say, they come from the same ultimate source, but have subsequently diverged. Freebooter ‘pirate’ was borrowed from Dutch vrijbuiter, a compound formed from vrij ‘free’ and buiter ‘plunderer’ (this was a derivative of buit ‘loot’, to which English booty is related).

But English was not the only language to adopt it; French wanted it too, but mangled it somewhat in the borrowing, to flibustier. It was then handed on to Spanish, as filibustero. It is not clear where the 16th-century English use of the word with an l spelling rather than an r spelling (which is recorded in only one text) comes from. The French form flibustier was borrowed towards the end of the 18th century, and presentday filibuster came from the Spanish form in the mid-19th century.

The use of the term for ‘obstructing a legislature with an overlong speech’ (which has now virtually obliterated its former semantic equivalence to freebooter) originated in the USA in the 1880s.
=> booty, free, freebooter

filibuster (n.)

1580s, flibutor "pirate," especially, in history, "West Indian buccaneer of the 17th century" (mainly French, Dutch, and English adventurers), probably ultimately from Dutch vrijbueter (now vrijbuiter) "freebooter," a word which was used of pirates in the West Indies in Spanish (filibustero) and French (flibustier, earlier fribustier) forms. See freebooter.

According to Century Dictionary, the spread of the word is owing to a Dutch work ("De Americaensche Zee-Roovers," 1678) "written by a bucaneer named John Oexmelin, otherwise Exquemelin or Esquemeling, and translated into French and Spanish, and subsequently into English (1684)." Spanish inserted the -i- in the first syllable; French is responsible for the -s-, inserted but not originally pronounced, "a common fact in 17th century F[rench], after the analogy of words in which an original s was retained in spelling, though it had become silent in pronunciation" [Century Dictionary].

In American English, from 1851 in reference to lawless military adventurers from the U.S. who tried to overthrow Central American governments. The major expeditions were those of Narciso Lopez of New Orleans against Cuba (1850-51) and by William Walker of California against the Mexican state of Sonora (1853-54) and against Nicaragua (1855-58).

FILIBUSTERING is a term lately imported from the Spanish, yet destined, it would seem, to occupy an important place in our vocabulary. In its etymological import it is nearly synonymous with piracy. It is commonly employed, however, to denote an idea peculiar to the modern progress, and which may be defined as the right and practice of private war, or the claim of individuals to engage in foreign hostilities aside from, and even in opposition to the government with which they are in political membership. ["Harper's New Monthly Magazine," January 1853]

The noun in the legislative sense is not in Bartlett (1859) and seems not to have been in use in U.S. legislative writing before 1865 (filibustering in this sense is from 1861). Probably the extension in sense is because obstructionist legislators "pirated" debate or overthrew the usual order of authority. Originally of the senator who led it; the maneuver itself so called by 1893. Not technically restricted to U.S. Senate, but that's where the strategy works best. [The 1853 use of filibustering by U.S. Rep. Albert G. Brown of Mississippi reported in the "Congressional Globe" and cited in the OED does not refer to legislative obstruction, merely to national policy toward Cuba.]

filibuster (v.)

1853 in the freebooting sense, from filibuster (n.). Legislative sense is from 1861. Related: Filibustered; filibustering.

Senator Seymour has threatened a filibuster to block the bill.

参议员西摩威胁说要发表长篇演说来阻挠议案通过。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

They simply threatened to filibuster until the Senate adjourns...

他们只是威胁说要以冗长演说进行阻挠，直到参议院休会。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

A group of senators plans to filibuster a measure that would permit drilling in Alaska.

一群参议员计划通过发表长篇大论来阻挠一项允许在阿拉斯加州钻探石油的议案获得通过。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate, needs 60 votes to break a filibuster.

参议院多数党领袖哈里?里德需要60票才能挫败阻碍议案通过的行动.

期刊摘选

In theory, Republicans could a filibuster, but blocking a judge is not like blocking a law.

理论上, 共和党人会使用阻挠手段, 但是阻断审判并不像阻断法律(那么容易).

期刊摘选

We could not prolong a filibuster indefinitely.

我们不能无限期地延长抗争.

期刊摘选

They simply threatened to filibuster until the Senate adjourns.

他们仅威胁说要发动抗争直到参议院休会.

期刊摘选

Organizing or carry out of a filibuster.

为阻挠议事进行组织.

期刊摘选

A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.

一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来,作为一种阻碍议事的手法.

《简明英汉词典》

The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate.

民主党党员组织了阻挠议事.

《简明英汉词典》

The filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of their plan.

议事阻挠是他们的计划取得成功的主要障碍.

期刊摘选

A group of senators plans to filibuster a measure that would permit drilling in Alaska.

参议员们试图阻挠一项允许在阿拉斯加州钻探石油的议案获得通过。

柯林斯例句

Senator Seymour has threatened a filibuster to block the bill.

参议员西摩威胁说要发表长篇演说来阻挠议案通过。

柯林斯例句