The other day we were discussing upcoming renovation plans, and I mentioned that Patti changed her mind on a few things that we had planned to accomplish. The comment was uttered, “It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.” That got me thinking as to where and when that phrase came into being. It appears that this idiom has its roots in the Middle Ages.
From at least the Middle Ages (500-1500 AD) to the early 20th century, many authorities considered a man's promise of engagement to marry as a legally binding contract. If the man subsequently changed his mind, he would be said to be in breach of this promise and could be subject to litigation for damages. The converse of that was seldom true. A woman had the prerogative to change her mind. Unless a dowry of money or property had changed hands, the woman could withdraw from the engagement to marry and not be liable for breach of promise.
Prerogative means an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege. A prerogative can belong to an office or an official body, to a person, group, or class of individuals, or by a nation as an attribute of sovereignty. One should not question the authority and prerogative of the president. In ancient times the birthright was the prerogative of the eldest son. The English crown retains the formal prerogative power to appoint the Prime Minister.
In ancient Rome, voting at legal assemblies was done by group, with the majority in a group determining the vote. The group chosen to vote first on an issue was called the praerogativa. This word is derived from the Latin rogāre, meaning to ask or to ask an assembly for a decision. When English adopted prerogative from Latin in the 1400s, it seized the idea of the privilege the ancient Roman voting group enjoyed. Prerogative referred to an exclusive right of privilege.
My Prerogative is a song by American singer Bobby Brown on his second album Don’t Be Cruel (1988). The song was written by Brown as a response to the criticism he received for his leaving the successful group New Edition. He explained the song was about making decisions in one's life and not caring about other people's judgment. My Prerogative has been covered and sampled by a number of artists from different genres, including Britney Spears.
Synonyms can include appanage, birthright, and right.
Appanage means a property or privilege appropriated to or by a person as something due. The very wealthy believe that political power is their natural appanage.
Birthright implies a right, privilege, or possession to which a person is entitled by their birth. Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News said on July 1, 2024, “During the campaign, Trump has promised to oversee the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and end birthright citizenship for the children of unauthorized immigrants if elected.”
Right means something that one may properly claim as due. After 5 years employment, the contract stipulated the right to take 5 weeks of vacation with pay.
An author has the prerogative to decide the fate of the characters in a book that he or she has written. My wife has the prerogative to change her mind on many issues, if I want to maintain a healthy marriage. As it is said, “A happy wife is a happy life.”
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
