Meaning

noun a legislator who gives long speeches in an effort to delay or obstruct legislation that he (or she) opposes

noun (law) a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches

verb obstruct deliberately by delaying

originBorrowed from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”), from French flibustier, ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter (“freebooter”), from vrij (“free”) + buit (“booty”) + -er (“agent”). The alteration in the first syllable in French is due to the word's being somewhat conflated with vlieboot (“light, flat-bottomed cargo vessel with two or three masts”) when it was borrowed into French or another language from…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0