IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchLe libre arbitre
Meaning: Free will — the capacity to choose independently of compulsion.
Literally: Free arbitration
Example: “Le philosophe se demande si le libre arbitre existe vraiment.” — The philosopher wonders whether free will really exists.
Origin: From Latin liberum arbitrium, arbitrium meaning judgment or decision rather than arbitration in the modern sense. The term was fixed by Augustine and became central to the Reformation quarrel over whether the will is free at all.
More French idioms
- À l'article de la mort At the very point of dying.
- De bon augure A promising sign; its opposite, de mauvais augure, means ominous.
- Mesurer à l'aune de To judge something by a particular standard.
- L'avocat du diable Someone who argues a position they do not hold in order to test it.
- Dans tous les azimuts In every direction at once; scattered and unfocused.
- Une tour de Babel A place of hopeless confusion, especially one where nobody speaks the same language.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
Keep exploring