<P> A filibuster is a political procedure where one or more members of parliament or congress debate over a proposed piece of legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision being made on the proposal . It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out a bill" and is characterized as a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision - making body . This form of political obstruction reaches as far back as Ancient Roman times and could also be referred to synonymously with political stonewalling . </P> <P> The term "filibuster" ultimately derives from the Dutch vrijbuiter ("freebooter", a pillaging and plundering adventurer), though the precise history of its borrowing into English is obscure . The Oxford English Dictionary finds its only known use in early modern English in a 1587 book describing "flibutors" who robbed supply convoys . In the late 18th century, the term was re-borrowed into English from its French form flibustier, a form that was used until the mid-19th century . </P>

What term means talk a bill to death