FILIBUSTER, a name originally given to the buccaneers (q.v.). The term is probably derived from the Dutch vry baiter, freebooter; it was revived in America to designate those adven turers who, after the termination of the war between Mexico and the United States, organized expeditions within the United States to take part in West Indian and Central American revolutions. The modern use of the word denotes one who engages in private warfare against any state. In the United States it is colloquially applied to legislators who practise obstruction.