mare liberum

American  

[mair-ee lib-er-uhm, mahr-ey, mah-re lee-be-room] / ˈmɛər i ˈlɪb ər əm, ˈmɑr eɪ, ˈmɑ rɛ ˈli bɛˌrʊm /

noun

1. a body of navigable water to which all nations have unrestricted access.

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mare liberum British  

/ ˈmɑːreɪ ˈliːbərʊm /

noun

1. law a sea open to navigation by shipping of all nations Compare mare clausum

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Etymology

Origin of mare liberum

1645–55; < Latin: free sea

Example Sentences

Yet still his claim the injured ocean laid, And oft at leap-frog o’er their steeples played, As if on purpose it on land had come To show them what’s their mare liberum.

From Project Gutenberg

Great Britain having bottled up the North Sea, a mare liberum must be established.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet still his claim the injur’d ocean laid, And oft at leap-frog ore their steeples plaid: As if on purpose it on land had come To show them what’s their mare liberum.

From Project Gutenberg