PREROGATIVE • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Prerogative

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/prɪrˈɑgətɪv/ /pˈərˈɑgətɪv/ Listen

noun

Prerogative n.

1.

An exclusive or peculiar privilege; prior and indefeasible right; fundamental and essential possession; used generally of an official and hereditary right which may be asserted without question, and for the exercise of which there is no responsibility or accountability as to the fact and the manner of its exercise. "The two faculties that are the prerogative of man the powers of abstraction and imagination." "An unconstitutional exercise of his prerogative."

2.

Precedence; preeminence; first rank. (Obs.) "Then give me leave to have prerogative." Note: The term came into general use in the conflicts between the Crown and Parliaments of Great Britain, especially in the time of the Stuarts.

Prerogative Court (Eng. Law), a court which formerly had authority in the matter of wills and administrations, where the deceased left bona notabilia, or effects of the value of five pounds, in two or more different dioceses.

Prerogative office, the office in which wills proved in the Prerogative Court were registered.

Synonyms: Privilege; right. See Privilege.

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Etymology of 'Prerogative'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Prerogative" Quotes from Famous Books

... there the whole State—the whole South—was in armed rebellion against the Federal government. Here is neither insurrection nor rebellion. Here, honest, law-abiding, patriotic men, as loyal to the Union of States as ever you could be, are exerting their prerogative as men, their rights as citizens, to obtain justice for themselves and their brethren at the hands of a defiant and oppressive monopoly. They have done no wrong, violated no law, and yet here you come with bayonets and ball cartridges to intimidate, ...

— A Tame Surrender, A Story of The Chicago Strike • Charles King

... which became popular after the Boxer Settlement had allowed the court to return to Peking from Hsianfu, the viceroys found their most essential prerogative, which was the control of the provincial purse, largely taken from them and handed over to Financial Commissioners who were directly responsible to the Peking Ministry of Finance, a Department which was attempting to replace the loose system of matricular contributions by the European system ...

— The Fight For The Republic In China • B.L. Putnam Weale

... prerogative," answered Mauville easily. "I only mentioned it to show how highly he ...

— The Strollers • Frederic S. Isham

... report the Senate disagreed and appointed a new committee. This proposed that the President should be called "His Highness the President of the United States and Protector of their Liberties." When wise men are absurd they presume on their prerogative. The Senate accepted the report, but the House had the good sense to reject it, consenting, however, to leave the question in abeyance. On these proceedings Mr. Madison thus commented ...

— James Madison • Sydney Howard Gay

... "philosophy" which teaches the hopelessness of human effort, and, by implication, the abandonment of moral dignity. From profound generalizations upon society, he rises to make the duty of the individual most solemn and imperative. Above all, he has this best prerogative of really great thinkers,—he is able ...

— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 80, June, 1864 • Various

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