prerogative
[pri-rog-uh-tiv, puh-rog-]
- an exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like: the prerogatives of a senator.
- a right, privilege, etc., limited to a specific person or to persons of a particular category: It was the teacher's prerogative to stop the discussion.
- a power, immunity, or the like restricted to a sovereign government or its representative: The royal prerogative exempts the king from taxation.
- Obsolete. precedence.
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- having or exercising a prerogative.
- pertaining to, characteristic of, or existing by virtue of a prerogative.
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Origin of prerogative
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin praerogātīvus (adj.) voting first, praerogātīva (noun use of feminine of adj.) tribe or century with right to vote first. See pre-, interrogative
Synonyms
See more synonyms for prerogative on Thesaurus.com1. See privilege.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for prerogative
Contemporary Examples
It is entirely the government's prerogative to accede to these requests or not.
In Italy, Religious Minorities Struggle (Vainly) for Official RecognitionAnna Momigliano
November 14, 2013
That is our prerogative, but if we exercise it, we should have a little rule among ourselves.
“He is an adult and if he wants to disappear it is his prerogative,” French said.
Perhaps one constant, then, in Fiasco's life is that he reserves the prerogative to quit something once it no longer feels right.
If President Obama decides he needs a new diplomatic team, that is his prerogative.
Historical Examples
Every species of mere bodily labor is the prerogative of these Irish.
Sketches from MemoryNathaniel Hawthorne
There was something that is supposed to be the prerogative of royalty in the lift of it.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
She carried the idea of the prerogative of rank to a high pitch.
This is prerogative, and not to be limited by our municipal rules.
Essays, Second SeriesRalph Waldo Emerson
Those born great are able to do this by prerogative; you and I may succeed to it by skill.
Gerald FitzgeraldCharles James Lever
prerogative
- an exclusive privilege or right exercised by a person or group of people holding a particular office or hereditary rank
- any privilege or right
- a power, privilege, or immunity restricted to a sovereign or sovereign government
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- having or able to exercise a prerogative
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin praerogātīva privilege, earlier: group with the right to vote first, from prae before + rogāre to ask, beg for
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for prerogative
n.
"special right or privilege granted to someone," late 14c. (in Anglo-Latin from late 13c.), from Old French prerogative (14c.), Medieval Latin prerogativa "special right," from Latin praerogativa "prerogative, previous choice or election," originally (with tribus, centuria) "unit of 100 voters who by lot voted first in the Roman comita," noun use of fem. of praerogativus (adj.) "chosen to vote first," from praerogere "ask before others," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + rogare "to ask" (see rogation).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper