free
See also: -free
English
Etymology
From Middle English free, fre, freo, from Old English frēo (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“dear, beloved”), from *preyH- (“to love, please”). Related to friend.
cognates, etc
Germanic cognates include West Frisian frij (“free”), Dutch vrij (“free”), Low German free (“free”), German frei (“free”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian fri (“free”).
Other cognates include Russian приятель (prijatelʹ, “friend”) and Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “beloved”).
Germanic and Celtic are the only Indo-European language branches in which the PIE word with the meaning of "dear, beloved" acquired the additional meaning of "free" in the sense of "not in bondage". This was an extension of the idea of "characteristic of those who are dear and beloved", in other words friends and tribe members (in contrast to unfree inhabitants from other tribes and prisoners of war, many of which were among the slaves – compare the Latin use of liberi to mean both "free persons" and "children of a family").[1][2]
The verb comes from Middle English freen, freoȝen, from Old English frēon, frēoġan (“to free; make free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frijōn, from Proto-Germanic *frijōną, from Proto-Indo-European *preyH-.
Pronunciation
- enPR: frē, IPA(key): /fɹiː/, [fɹɪi̯]
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -iː
- Homophone: three (with th-fronting)
A sign advertising free beer (obtainable without payment). It is a joke: every day the sign is read, the free beer will be available "tomorrow".
A "buy one get one free" sign at a flower stand (obtainable without additional payment)
This food product is labelled "fat free", meaning it contains no fat
Adjective
free (comparative freer or free-er or (rare) freeër, superlative freest or free-est or (rare) freeëst)
- (social) Unconstrained.
- He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene i]:
- Quickly, spirit! / Thou shalt ere long be free.
- 1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'Clock:
- There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town. “Mason Rickets, he had ten big punkins a-sittin' in front of his store, an' them fellers from the Upside-down-F ranch shot 'em up […] .”
- 2013 August 10, Schumpeter, “Cronies and capitols”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult. Businesspeople have every right to lobby governments, and civil servants to take jobs in the private sector.
- Synonyms: unconstrained, unfettered, unhindered
- Antonyms: constrained, restricted
- Not imprisoned or enslaved.
- a free man
- Antonyms: bound, enslaved, imprisoned
- Unconstrained by timidity or distrust
- Synonyms: unreserved, frank, communicative
- 1818, Richard Milward, The Table Talk of John Selden, page xxiv:
- Dr. Wilkins says, "He was naturally of a serious temper, which was somewhat soured by his sufferings, so that he was free only with a few."
- Generous; liberal.
- He's very free with his money.
- (obsolete) Clear of offence or crime; guiltless; innocent.
- 1679, John Dryden, Oedipus: A Tragedy, page 59:
- My hands are guilty, but my heart is free.
-
- Without obligations.
- free time
- Thrown open, or made accessible, to all; to be enjoyed without limitations; unrestricted; not obstructed, engrossed, or appropriated; open; said of a thing to be possessed or enjoyed.
- a free school
- 1590-2, William Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew, I, ii:
- Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free / For me as for you?
- Not arbitrary or despotic; assuring liberty; defending individual rights against encroachment by any person or class; instituted by a free people; said of a government, institutions, etc.
- This is a free country.
- (software) With no or only freedom-preserving limitations on distribution or modification.
- OpenOffice is free software.
- Synonym: libre
- Antonyms: proprietary, non-free
- (software) Intended for release, as opposed to a checked version.
- Obtainable without any payment.
- 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
- The government provides free health care.
- It's free real estate.
- Synonyms: free of charge, gratis
- (by extension, chiefly advertising slang) complimentary
- Buy a TV to get a free DVD player!
- (abstract) Unconstrained.
- (mathematics) Unconstrained by relators.
- the free group on three generators
- (mathematics, logic) Unconstrained by quantifiers.
- is the free variable in .
- Antonym: bound
- (programming) Unconstrained of identifiers, not bound.
- Synonym: unbound
- Antonym: bound
- (linguistics) (of a morpheme) That can be used by itself, unattached to another morpheme.
- (mathematics) Unconstrained by relators.
- (physical) Unconstrained.
- Unobstructed, without blockages.
- the drain was free
- Synonyms: clear, unobstructed
- Antonyms: blocked, obstructed
- Unattached or uncombined.
- a free radical
- Synonyms: loose, unfastened; see also Thesaurus:loose
- Not currently in use; not taken; unoccupied.
- You can sit on this chair; it's free.
- (botany, mycology) Not attached; loose.
- In this group of mushrooms, the gills are free.
- 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 7:
- Furthermore, the free anterior margin of the lobule is arched toward the lobe and is often involute […]
- (military) Of a rocket or missile: not under the control of a guidance system after being launched.
- Unobstructed, without blockages.
- Without; not containing (what is specified); exempt; clear; liberated.
- Synonym: without
- We had a wholesome, filling meal, free of meat. I would like to live free from care in the mountains.
- 1679-1715, Gilbert Burnet, The History of the Reformation of the Church of England:
- princes declaring themselves free from the obligations of their treaties
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
- One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.
- (dated) Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited.
- a free horse
- (dated) Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; followed by of.
- 1697, John Dryden, “Part 3, line 1245”, in The Hind and the Panther:
- He therefore makes all birds, of every sect, / Free of his farm.
-
- (UK, law, obsolete) Certain or honourable; the opposite of base.
- free service; free socage
- (law) Privileged or individual; the opposite of common.
- a free fishery; a free warren
Antonyms
- The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates
{{syn|en|...}}or{{ant|en|...}}.
- unfree
Hyponyms
- The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates
{{syn|en|...}}or{{ant|en|...}}.
- -free
Derived terms
- break free
- double free
- feel free
- first bite free
- footloose and fancy free
- free Abelian group, free abelian group
- free agency
- free agent
- free algebra
- free alongside ship
- free and clear
- free and easy
- free-and-easy
- free as a bird
- free as in beer
- free as in speech
- free association
- freeball
- free ball
- free base
- free bench
- free-blown
- free board
- free-boob
- free Boolean algebra
- freebooter
- free cash flow
- free category
- free cell formation
- Free China
- free city
- free climber
- free-climbing
- free climbing
- free clothes association
- free coinage
- free communism
- free communist
- free companion
- free convection
- free-cooling
- free country
- free day
- free diver
- free-diver
- free-diving
- free diving
- freedom
- freedom ain't free
- freedom is not free
- freedom isn't free
- freedom's not free
- free edge
- free electron
- free energy
- free enterprise
- free-exercise clause
- free fall
- free-fall
- free fatty acid
- free-feed
- free-fire
- free float
- free-floating
- free-flowing
- free-for-all
- free form
- free-form
- Free France
- free-from
- free grace
- free group
- free hand
- free-hand
- free-handed
- free-handedly
- free-handedness
- free-hanging
- free-hearted
- free-heartedly
- free-heartedness
- free-heel skiing
- free helicopter ride
- freehood
- free house
- free imperial city
- free indirect speech
- free jazz
- freelance
- free library
- free list
- free-liver
- free-living
- free-living organism
- freeloader
- free love
- free lover
- free lunch
- freely
- free market
- free-market
- free-marketeer
- free marketeer
- free marketeering
- free-market fundamentalism
- free-marketism
- Freemason
- free-milling
- free-mix
- free module
- free monoid
- free morpheme
- freeness
- free neutron
- free object
- free of charge
- free of the city
- free on board
- free pass
- free period
- free port
- free press
- free product
- free radical
- free range
- free-range
- free-ranging
- free reed
- free reign
- free rein
- free ride
- free-ride
- free rider
- free-rider problem
- free-roam
- free roam
- free-roaming
- free runner
- free-running
- free running, freerunning
- free semigroup
- free sheet
- free-sheet
- free silver
- free solo
- free-solo
- free soloist
- free space
- free-speaking
- free speech
- free-speecher
- free speech zone
- free spin
- free spirit
- free-spirited
- free-spoken
- free-standing
- free state
- free-stone
- free-style
- free substitution
- free sugar
- free-swimming
- free-thinker
- free-thinking
- free thought
- free throw
- free-throw lane
- free-throw line
- free throw percentage
- free time
- free to air
- free-to-air
- free-tongued
- free-to-play
- free to play
- free trade
- free trade area
- free-trade area
- free trader
- free trial
- free-turbine engine
- free ultrafilter
- free up
- free variable
- free variation
- free verse
- free vote
- freeware
- free warren
- free water
- freeway
- free weight
- freewheel
- free-wheeling
- free will
- free-willer
- free will theorem
- free world
- free zone
- get-out-of-jail-free card
- get out of jail free card
- Gibbs free energy
- half-free
- half-free
- home free
- it's a free country
- land of the free
- leader of the free world
- live rent free in someone's head
- live rent-free in someone's head
- make free of
- make free with
- mean free path
- no free lunch theorem
- olly olly oxen free
- region free
- set free
- the best things in life are free
- there ain't no such thing as a free lunch
- there's no such thing as a free lunch
- uncoated free sheet
- walk free
- weapons free
- why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free
Related terms
- friend
Translations
not imprisoned
|
obtainable without payment — see free of charge
unconstrained
|
mathematics: unconstrained
|
unobstructed
|
not in use
|
without obligations
|
software: with very few limitations on distribution or improvement
|
without
|
programming: not bound
|
mycology: not attached to the stipe
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Adverb
free (comparative more free, superlative most free)
- Without needing to pay.
- I got this bike free.
- 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:
- Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.
- Synonyms: for free, for nothing
- (obsolete) Freely; willingly.
- c. 1601–1602, Henry VIII, published 1623:
- I as free forgive you / As I would be forgiven.
-
Translations
without needing to pay
|
Verb
A painting depicting mythical Greek hero Perseus freeing Andromeda, who was imprisoned by a sea monster
free (third-person singular simple present frees, present participle freeing, simple past and past participle freed)
- (transitive) To make free; set at liberty; release.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii], page 5:
- Pro. […] Spirit, fine ſpirit, Ilefree thee / Within two dayes for this.
-
- (transitive) To rid of something that confines or oppresses.
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 564:
- Then I walked about, till I found on the further side, a great river of sweet water, running with a strong current; whereupon I called to mind the boat-raft I had made aforetime and said to myself, "Needs must I make another; haply I may free me from this strait. If I escape, I have my desire and I vow to Allah Almighty to forswear travel; and if I perish I shall be at peace and shall rest from toil and moil."
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 564:
- (transitive, programming) To relinquish (previously allocated memory) to the system.
- 2002, Jesse Liberty, SAMS Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours (page 148)
- There is no way to access that original area of memory, nor is there any way to free it before the program ends.
- 2002, Jesse Liberty, SAMS Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours (page 148)
Synonyms
- befree
- emancipate
- let loose
- liberate
- manumit
- release
- unchain
- unfetter
- unshackle
Derived terms
- befree
Translations
make free
|
Noun
free (plural frees)
- (Australian rules football, Gaelic football) Abbreviation of free kick.
- 2006, :
- Whether deserved or not, the free gave Cresswell the chance to cover himself in glory with a shot on goal after the siren.
- 2006, :
- (soccer) A free transfer.
- 2011 September 21, Sam Lyon, “Man City 2 - 0 Birmingham”, in BBC Sport:
- Hargreaves, who left Manchester United on a free during the summer, drilled a 22-yard beauty to open the scoring.
-
- (hurling) The usual means of restarting play after a foul is committed, where the non-offending team restarts from where the foul was committed.
- (swimming, informal) Abbreviation of freestyle.
- The team won the 200 meters free relay.
Translations
abbreviation of free kick
|
hurling
|
References
- free at OneLook Dictionary Search
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “free”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- "frei" in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Anagrams
- feer, fere, reef
Galician
Verb
free
- first-person singular present subjunctive of frear
- third-person singular present subjunctive of frear
Low German
Alternative forms
- frie (more common)
Etymology
From Middle Low German vrîe, variant of vrî, from Old Saxon frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *prey (“new”). Compare Dutch vrij, West Frisian frij, English free, German frei.
Adjective
free (comparative fre'er, superlative freest)
- (rather rare) free
Declension
Positive forms of free
| gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | he is free | se is free | dat is free | se sünd free | |
| partitive | een Fre'es | een Fre'es | wat Fre'es | allens Fre'e | |
| strong declension (without article) | nominative | fre'e | fre'e | free | fre'e |
| oblique | fre'en | fre'e | free | fre'e | |
| weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | de fre'e | de fre'e | dat fre'e | de fre'en |
| oblique | den fre'en | de fre'e | dat fre'e | de fre'en | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | en fre'e | en fre'e | en free/fre'et | (keen) fre'en |
| oblique | en fre'en | en fre'e | en free/fre'et | (keen) fre'en | |
Comparative forms of free
| gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | he is fre'er | se is fre'er | dat is fre'er | se sünd fre'er | |
| partitive | een fre'ers | een fre'ers | wat fre'ers | allens fre'er | |
| strong declension (without article) | nominative | fre'ere | fre'ere | fre'er | fre'ere |
| oblique | fre'ern | fre'ere | fre'er | fre'ere | |
| weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | de fre'ere | de fre'ere | dat fre'ere | de fre'ern |
| oblique | den fre'ern | de fre'ere | dat fre'ere | de fre'ern | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | en fre'ere | en fre'ere | en fre'er | (keen) fre'ern |
| oblique | en fre'ern | en fre'ere | en fre'er | (keen) fre'ern | |
Superlative forms of free
| gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | he is de Freeste | se is de Freeste | dat is dat Freeste | se sünd de Freesten | |
| strong declension (without article) | nominative | freeste | freeste | freest | freeste |
| oblique | freesten | freeste | freest | freeste | |
| weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | de freeste | de freeste | dat freeste | de freesten |
| oblique | den freesten | de freeste | dat freeste | de freesten | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | en freeste | en freeste | en freest | (keen) freesten |
| oblique | en freesten | en freeste | en freest | (keen) freesten | |
| Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects. |
|---|
Derived terms
- Freeheit