Webster's English Dictionary

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prerogative

pre.rog.a.tive \pri-'ra:g-*t-iv\ \-ivd\ n [ME, fr. MF & L; MF, fr. L 
   praerogativa, Roman century voting first in th]e comitia, privilege, fr. 
   fem. of praerogativus voting first, fr. praerogatus, pp. of praerogare to 
   ask for an opinion before another, fr. prae- + rogare to ask - more at 
   RIGHT 1a: an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege : as  1a1: one 
   belonging to an office or an official body  1a2: one belonging to a person, 
   group, or class of individuals  1a3: one possessed by a nation as an 
   attribute of sovereignty  1b: the discretionary power inhering in the 
   British Crown  2: a distinctive excellence  - pre.rog.a.tived aj