a notorious filibuster

Watched Charlie Chan at the Olympics night before last. There was a rather odd, to my ears, description of one of the crooks: when the remote control device for a bomber (or "robot" as they kept calling it) was stolen, and a suspect's name came up, the War Department man said of the suspect, "He's a notorious filibuster!"

That meaning of "filibuster" was totally new to me. I'd only heard it to mean

the use of extreme dilatory tactics (as speaking merely to consume time) by an individual or group in an attempt to delay or prevent action by the majority in a legislative or deliberative assembly

as MW puts it. But they also offer this meaning, which is in fact the first one:

1 a: an American who in the mid-19th century took part in fomenting revolutions and insurrections in a Latin-American country b : an irregular military adventurer; specifically : an organizer or member of a hostile expedition to a country with which his own is at peace

That's clearly what the character in the movie meant.

The etymology is interesting, too.

Spanish filibustero, literally, freebooter, probably from French flibustier, fribustier, from English fleebooter, freebooter, which is from Dutch vrijbuiter, from vrijbuit plunder (from vrij free + buit booty, from buiten to exchange, plunder, from Middle Dutch bten, from Middle Low German) + -er (akin to Old English -ere -er).

I'm amazed that the legislative meaning could have evolved from the "freebooter" one, but not surprised that once it did, it ousted the original meaning.