mare liberum

[ mair-ee lib-er-uhm, mahr-ey; Latin mah-re lee-be-room ]

noun

1. a body of navigable water to which all nations have unrestricted access.

mare liberum

/ ˈmɑːreɪ ˈliːbərʊm /

noun

1. law a sea open to navigation by shipping of all nations Compare mare clausum

Word History and Origins

Origin of mare liberum¹

1645–55; < Latin: free sea

Word History and Origins

Origin of mare liberum¹

Latin: free sea

Example Sentences

Yet still his claim the injured ocean laid, And oft at leap-frog o’er their steeples played, As if on purpose it on land had come To show them what’s their mare liberum.

From Project Gutenberg

Great Britain having bottled up the North Sea, a mare liberum must be established.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet still his claim the injur’d ocean laid, And oft at leap-frog ore their steeples plaid: As if on purpose it on land had come To show them what’s their mare liberum.

From Project Gutenberg