civil liberty
Preserved but no longer current.
The liberty of a subject to conduct his own arTairs as he thinks proper, provided he neither infringes on the equal liberty of others, nor offends against the good morals or laws under which he is living.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “civil liberty” mean?
The liberty of a subject to conduct his own arTairs as he thinks proper, provided he neither infringes on the equal liberty of others, nor offends against the good morals or laws under which he is living.
Is “civil liberty” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.