What is "privilege"

Privilege \Priv"i*lege\, n. [F. privil[`e]ge, L. privilegium an ordinance or law against or in favor of an individual; privus private + lex, legis, law. See Private, and Legal.]

1. A peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity not enjoyed by others or by all; special enjoyment of a good, or exemption from an evil or burden; a prerogative; advantage; franchise.

   He pleads the legal privilege of a Roman.
   --Kettlewell.

   The privilege birthright was a double portion.
   --Locke.

   A people inheriting privileges, franchises, and liberties.
   --Burke.

2. (Stockbroker's Cant) See Call, Put, Spread, etc.

   Breach of privilege. See under Breach.

   Question of privilege (Parliamentary practice), a question which concerns the security of a member of a legislative body in his special privileges as such.

   Water privilege, the advantage of having machinery driven by a stream, or a place affording such advantage. [ U. S.]

   Writ of privilege (Law), a writ to deliver a privileged person from custody when arrested in a civil suit.
   --Blackstone.

   Syn: Prerogative; immunity; franchise; right; claim; liberty.

   Usage: Privilege, Prerogative. Privilege, among the Romans, was something conferred upon an individual by a private law; and hence, it denotes some peculiar benefit or advantage, some right or immunity, not enjoyed by the world at large. Prerogative, among the Romans, was the right of voting first; and, hence, it denotes a right of precedence, or of doing certain acts, or enjoying certain privileges, to the exclusion of others. It is the privilege of a member of Congress not to be called in question elsewhere for words uttered in debate. It is the prerogative of the president to nominate judges and executive officers. It is the privilege of a Christian child to be instructed in the true religion. It is the prerogative of a parent to govern and direct his children.

Privilege \Priv"i*lege\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Privileged; p. pr. & vb. n. Privileging.] [Cf. F. privil['e]gier.]

1. To grant some particular right or exemption to; to invest with a peculiar right or immunity; to authorize; as, to privilege representatives from arrest.

   To privilege dishonor in thy name.
   --Shak.

2. To bring or put into a condition of privilege or exemption from evil or danger; to exempt; to deliver.

   He took this place for sanctuary, And it shall privilege him from your hands.
   --Shak.

mid-12c. "grant, commission" (recorded earlier in Old English, but as a Latin word), from Old French privilege "right, priority, privilege" (12c.) and directly from Latin privilegium "law applying to one person, bill of law in favor of or against an individual," later "privilege," from privus "individual" (see private (adj.)) + lex (genitive legis) "law" (see legal (adj.)). Meaning "advantage granted" is from mid-14c. in English.

early 14c., privilegen, "to invest with a privilege," from privilege (n.) and from Old French privilegier (13c.), from Medieval Latin privilegare, from Latin privilegium. Related: Privileged; priviledging.

n. 1 (cx ecclesiastical law now chiefly historical English) An exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope. (from 8th c.) 2 (cx countable English) A particular benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity enjoyed by some but not others; a prerogative, preferential treatment. (from 10th c.) 3 An especially rare or fortunate opportunity; the good fortune (to do something). (from 14th c.) 4 (rfc-sense) (cx uncountable English) The fact of being privileged; the status or existence of (now especially social or economic) benefit or advantage within a given society. (from 14th c.) 5 A right or immunity enjoyed by a legislative body or its members. (from 16th c.) 6 (context countable US finance now rare English) A stock market option. (from 19th c.) 7 (context legal English) A common law doctrine that protects certain communications from being used as evidence in court. 8 (context computing English) An ability to perform an action on the system that can be selectively granted or deny to users; permission. vb. 1 (context archaic English) To grant some particular right or exemption to; to invest with a peculiar right or immunity; to authorize; as, to privilege representatives from arrest. 2 (context archaic English) To bring or put into a condition of privilege or exemption from evil or danger; to exempt; to deliver.

1. n. a special advantage or immunity or benefit not enjoyed by all

2. a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right); "suffrage was the prerogative of white adult males" [syn: prerogative, perquisite, exclusive right]

3. (law) the right to refuse to divulge information obtained in a confidential relationship

v. bestow a privilege upon [syn: favor, favour]

Privilege in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church is the legal concept whereby someone is exempt from the ordinary operation of the law over time for some specific purpose.

Privilege is a British film directed by Peter Watkins. It was released in 1967 being produced by John Heyman. Johnny Speight wrote the story, and Norman Bogner wrote the script. Some of it was filmed on location in Birmingham, England, partly at Birmingham City F.C.'s St Andrew's stadium and at Birmingham Town Hall.

An evidentiary privilege is a rule of evidence that allows the holder of the privilege to refuse to provide evidence about a certain subject or to bar such evidence from being disclosed or used in a judicial or other proceeding.

"Privilege (Set Me Free)" is song by the Patti Smith Group and released as the second single from their 1978 album Easter. The original version of the song was titled "Free Me" and was written by Mel London and Mike Leander for the 1967 film Privilege. Patti spoke sections of Psalm 23 over the instrumental bridge among other lyrical additions.

A privilege is a certain entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis. Land-titles and taxi medallions are pronounced examples of transferable privilege. These can be revoked in certain circumstances. In modern democratic states, a privilege is conditional and granted only after birth. By contrast, a right is an inherent, irrevocable entitlement held by all citizens or all human beings from the moment of birth. Various examples of old common law privilege still exist, to title deeds, for example. Etymologically, a privilege (privilegium) means a "private law", or rule relating to a specific individual or institution.

Boniface's abbey of Fulda, to cite an early and prominent example, was granted privilegium, setting the abbot in direct contact with the pope, bypassing the jurisdiction of the local bishop.

One of the objectives of the French Revolution was the abolition of privilege. This meant the removal of separate laws for different social classes ( nobility, clergy, and ordinary people), instead subjecting everyone to the same common law. Privileges were abolished by the National Constituent Assembly on August 4, 1789.

One common legal privilege in the United States is protection from the requirement to testify or provide documents in certain situations (see subpoena duces tecum and privilege (evidence)).

In computing, privilege is defined as the delegation of authority over a computer system. A privilege allows a user to perform an action. Examples of various privileges include the ability to create a file in a directory, or to read or delete a file, access a device, or have read or write permission to a socket for communicating over the Internet.

Users who have been delegated extra levels of control are called privileged. Users who lack most privileges are defined as unprivileged, regular, or normal users.

Privilege Ibiza is the "world's largest nightclub" according to the Guinness Book of Records, with a capacity of 10,000 people. It is located not far from San Rafael, Ibiza, less than 1 km from the nightclub Amnesia. For fourteen years, Privilege hosted Manumission, one of the island's most famous events. After a dispute between the club owner and Manumission's organizers, the event moved to Amnesia.

Originally called Ku, Privilege was a restaurant in the 1970s. The main room is the size of an aircraft hangar with a 25m high roof and a swimming pool . The building was also where the video to " Barcelona" by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé was filmed on 29 May 1987.

The club is seen in the online racing game Test Drive Unlimited 2.

The club is mentioned in the film Kevin & Perry Go Large.

Privilege is an album by Ivor Cutler, originally released in 1983 on Rough Trade Records. It was produced by David Toop and Steve Beresford, both of whom are better known for their work in improvisational music and, unlike Cutler's 1970s recordings, it sees Cutler's vocals accompanied by a wide range of musical instruments including keyboards, banjo, euphonium and alto flute. The LP is co-credited to Linda Hirst, who recites a number of poems and provides backing vocals on some of the tracks. The closing track, "Women of the World", was released as a single and became a minor hit on the UK Indie Chart. It has since been covered by Jim O'Rourke, on his 1999 album Eureka, and YACHT, on his 2007 album I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real.

The album was re-released on CD in 2009 by Hoorgi House Records.

Privilege is a division of the Direct Line Group that specialises in selling insurance over the phone and internet. The company's slogan is You don't have to be posh to be Privileged.

Privilege insurance, based in Croydon, is underwritten by UK Insurance Limited and currently sells home insurance, car insurance, and car breakdown cover.

Joanna Lumley, Ian Wright and Nigel Havers are celebrities who have all appeared in Privilege advertising campaigns, featuring the 'You don't have to be posh...' slogan.

Privilege (Abridged) is the fourth full-length album from indie rock ensemble Parenthetical Girls. In December of 2012, it was announced via the Parenthetical Girls Twitter account that there would be an official, abridged version of the Privilege series of EPs, which began in 2010.

According to the press release, the album will include a DVD, "featuring 7 promotional films, blood draw documentation, live performances, & other ephemera."

Privilege is the fifth album by English rock band Television Personalities. It was released in 1989 through Fire Records. The album was recorded as a trio, with former Swell Maps member Jowe Head and drummer Jeffrey Bloom accompanying Dan Treacy.

Privilege may refer to:

• Privilege (legal ethics), a permission granted by law or other rules.
• Privilege (evidence), rules excluding certain confidential communication from being admissible as evidence in court
• Privilege (social inequality), a term in sociology describing any special status granted to one group and usually portrayed as default
  • White privilege
• Privilege (canon law)
• Privilege (Ivor Cutler album)
• Privilege (Television Personalities album)
• Privilege (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins
  • " Privilege (Set Me Free)", a 1978 song covered by the Patti Smith Group that is featured in the above film
• "Privilege" (short story), a short story by Frederick Forsyth
• Privilege (computing), the level of access granted in computer security
• Privilege (insurance company), a division of the Royal Bank of Scotland
• Privilege (frequent flyer program), a frequent flyer program of Aserca Airlines
• "Privilege" (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), an episode of the TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Privilege Creek, a river in Texas
• Privilege Ibiza, a nightclub in Ibiza

Privilege is a special right or advantage available only to a particular person or group of people. The term is commonly used in the context of social inequality, particularly in regard to age, disability, ethnic or racial category, gender, sexual orientation, religion and/or social class. Two common examples would be having access to a higher education and housing. Privilege can also be emotional or psychological, regarding comfort and personal self-confidence, or having a sense of belonging or worth in society. It began as an academic concept, but has since become popular outside of academia.

Substantial analysis of privilege and specific social groups have been published and have included a variety of perspectives. Some commentators have addressed limitations in the term, such as its inability to distinguish between concepts of "spared injustice" and "unjust enrichment", and its tendency to conflate disparate groups.