\Lib"er*ty\ (l[i^]b"[~e]r*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Liberties}
(-t[i^]z). [OE. liberte, F. libert['e], fr. L. libertas, fr.
liber free. See {Liberal}.]
1. The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to
   the will of another claiming ownership of the person or
   services; freedom; -- opposed to slavery, serfdom,
   bondage, or subjection.
         But ye . . . caused every man his servant, and every
         man his handmaid whom he had set at liberty at their
         pleasure, to return, and brought them into
         subjection.                           --Jer. xxxiv.
                                               16.
         Delivered fro the bondage of corruption into the
         glorious liberty of the sons of God.  --Bible, 1551.
                                               Rom. viii. 21.
2. Freedom from imprisonment, bonds, or other restraint upon
   locomotion.
         Being pent from liberty, as I am now. --Shak.
3. A privilege conferred by a superior power; permission
   granted; leave; as, liberty given to a child to play, or
   to a witness to leave a court, and the like.
4. Privilege; exemption; franchise; immunity enjoyed by
   prescription or by grant; as, the liberties of the
   commercial cities of Europe.
         His majesty gave not an entire county to any; much
         less did he grant . . . any extraordinary liberties.
                                               --Sir J.
                                               Davies.
5. The place within which certain immunities are enjoyed, or
   jurisdiction is exercised. [Eng.]
         Brought forth into some public or open place within
         the liberty of the city, and there . . . burned.
                                               --Fuller.
6. A certain amount of freedom; permission to go freely
   within certain limits; also, the place or limits within
   which such freedom is exercised; as, the liberties of a
   prison.
7. A privilege or license in violation of the laws of
   etiquette or propriety; as, to permit, or take, a liberty.
         He was repeatedly provoked into striking those who
         had taken liberties with him.         --Macaulay.
8. The power of choice; freedom from necessity; freedom from
   compulsion or constraint in willing.
         The idea of liberty is the idea of a power in any
         agent to do or forbear any particular action,
         according to the determination or thought of the
         mind, whereby either of them is preferred to the
         other.                                --Locke.
         This liberty of judgment did not of necessity lead
         to lawlessness.                       --J. A.
                                               Symonds.
9. (Manege) A curve or arch in a bit to afford room for the
   tongue of the horse.
10. (Naut.) Leave of absence; permission to go on shore.
{At liberty}.
    (a) Unconfined; free.
    (b) At leisure.
{Civil liberty}, exemption from arbitrary interference with
   person, opinion, or property, on the part of the
   government under which one lives, and freedom to take part
   in modifying that government or its laws.
{Liberty bell}. See under {Bell}.
{Liberty cap}.
    (a) The Roman pileus which was given to a slave at his
        manumission.
    (b) A limp, close-fitting cap with which the head of
        representations of the goddess of liberty is often
        decked. It is sometimes represented on a spear or a
        liberty pole.
{Liberty of the press}, freedom to print and publish without
   official supervision.
{Liberty party}, the party, in the American Revolution, which
   favored independence of England; in more recent usage, a
   party which favored the emancipation of the slaves.
{Liberty pole}, a tall flagstaff planted in the ground, often
   surmounted by a liberty cap. [U. S.]
{Moral liberty}, that liberty of choice which is essential to
   moral responsibility.
{Religious liberty}, freedom of religious opinion and
   worship.
Syn: Leave; permission; license.
Usage: {Liberty}, {Freedom}. These words, though often
       interchanged, are distinct in some of their
       applications. Liberty has reference to previous
       restraint; freedom, to the simple, unrepressed
       exercise of our powers. A slave is set at liberty; his
       master had always been in a state of freedom. A
       prisoner under trial may ask liberty (exemption from
       restraint) to speak his sentiments with freedom (the
       spontaneous and bold utterance of his feelings). The
       liberty of the press is our great security for freedom
       of thought.