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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

privilege.

An exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope.

9 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpɹɪv.(ɪ.)lɪd͡ʒ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpɹɪv.ɪ.lɪd͡ʒ/Canada, General-American/ˈpɹɪv.ə.lɪd͡ʒ/Canada, General-American/ˈpɹɪv.lɪd͡ʒ/Canada, General-American
  1. An exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope.

    countable · historical · uncountable
  2. A particular benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity enjoyed by some but not others; a prerogative, preferential treatment.

    countable
    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).

    countable · uncountable
  4. The fact of being privileged; the status or existence of (now especially social or economic) benefit or advantage within a given society.

    uncountable
  5. A right or immunity enjoyed by a legislative body or its members.

    countable · uncountable
  6. A stock market option.

    US · archaic · countable
  7. A common law doctrine that protects certain communications from being used as evidence in court.

    countable · uncountable
    Your honor, my client is not required to answer that; her response is protected by attorney-client privilege.
  8. An ability to perform an action on the system that can be selectively granted or denied to users.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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”). Displaced native Old English frēols (“privilege, immunity”).

verb/ˈpɹɪv.(ɪ.)lɪd͡ʒ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpɹɪv.ɪ.lɪd͡ʒ/Canada, General-American/ˈpɹɪv.ə.lɪd͡ʒ/Canada, General-American/ˈpɹɪv.lɪd͡ʒ/Canada, General-American
  1. To grant some particular right or exemption to; to invest with a peculiar right or immunity; to authorize

    archaic · transitive
    to privilege representatives from arrest
  2. To bring or put into a condition of privilege or exemption from evil or danger; to exempt; to deliver.

    archaic
  3. To prioritize.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

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”). Displaced native Old English frēols (“privilege, immunity”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.