The term "filibuster" had been in use for centuries to refer to independent military operators. The term was commonly used in the 1840s for American adventurers who sought to seize power in Central America. The term in its legislative sense was first used in 1854 when opponents tried to delay the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the U.S. Congress. Wiktionary explains the etymology thus: "From Spanish filibustero (pirate) > French flibustier > Dutch vrijbuiter (freebooter), from vrij (free) + buit (booty) + -er (agent)". Parliamentary filibusters, by analogy, steal the debate and hold it as theirs.