sense changeslibertaire ("anarchist") formed from liberté ("freedom"), from Latin libertas and the suffix -aire, from Latin -arius.
First appeared in English in 1789 by William Belsham, in his Essays. This was contrasted with necessitarian, in the context of , and was not used in the current sense.
The French word is first attested in a letter in May 1857 by French
Anarchist communism to anarchist philosopher , reading:
De l'être-humain mâle et femelle: Lettre à P.J. Proudhon
“Anarchiste juste-milieu, libéral et non LIBERTAIRE…â€
In translation:
“A centrist anarchist, liberal and not LIBERTARIAN…â€
hence the sense is of “extreme left-wingâ€.
The French term was popularized as a euphemism for anarchist in the 1890s, following the lois scélérates, when anarchist publications were banned by law in France.
The sense of “pro-property individualist†developed in the US in the 1940s, and was popularized in the 1950s. In the 1940s, Leonard Read began calling himself “libertarian†to contrast with “classical liberalâ€.
In 1955, Dean Russell also promoted use of the word, writing: “Let those of us who love liberty trademark and reserve for our own use the good and honorable word ‘libertarian’.â€
Dean Russell, Who is a Libertarian?, Foundation for Economic Education, "Ideas on Liberty," May, 1955.
