freelance

See also: free-lance

English

Alternative forms

free-lance

Etymology

From free +‎ lance. Coined by Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Ivanhoe (1820) to describe a medieval mercenary warrior or "free-lance" (indicating that the lance is not sworn to any lord's services). It changed to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was recognized as a verb in 1903 by authorities such as the Oxford English Dictionary. In modern times the term has morphed into an adjective, a verb, and an adverb, as well as the derivative noun freelancer.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹiːlɑːns/
Audio (southern England) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹiˌlæns/

Noun

freelance (plural freelances)

Someone who sells their services to clients without a long-term employment contract.
- 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
  The objector, one Millworthy, a free-lance of journalism, was not to be so easily silenced.
- 2014, Brian Mossop, Revising and Editing for Translators (page 192)
  The person you are revising (the revisee) is a colleague at your own rank, or another freelance.
(historical) A medieval mercenary.

Synonyms

(medieval mercenary): see Thesaurus:mercenary

Derived terms

freelancer

Descendants

Descendants of freelance in other languages

→ Catalan: freelance
→ Finnish: freelance
→ French: freelance
→ Japanese: フリーランス (furīransu)
→ Portuguese: frila(br) freelance(pt)
→ Spanish: freelance
→ Swedish: frilans
→ Turkish: freelance

Translations

one who sells their services to clients with short-term contracts

Estonian: vabakutseline
Finnish: freelancer (fi)
French: pigiste (fr), freelance (fr)
German: freier Mitarbeiter m
Italian: libero professionista, freelance (it)
Persian: کارمزدی‎ (kārmozdi)
Spanish: trabajador autónomo m, freelance
Swedish: frilans (sv) c
Ukrainian: фрілансер (frilanser)

medieval mercenary

French: mercenaire (fr)
Italian: mercenario (it) m

Adjective

freelance (comparative more freelance, superlative most freelance)

Of, or relating to a freelance; without employment contract.
He was a freelance writer for several magazines.

Translations

Of, or relating to a freelance

Catalan: freelance (ca), autònom (ca)
Estonian: vabakutseline
Finnish: freelance- (fi), vapaa (fi)
French: à la pige, indépendant (fr)
Irish: neamhspleách
Spanish: freelance
Thai: อิสระ (th) (ìt-sà-rà)
Turkish: freelance-, ^{(please verify)} Açık İş

Verb

freelance (third-person singular simple present freelances, present participle freelancing, simple past and past participle freelanced)

(intransitive) To work as a freelance.
(transitive) To produce or sell services as a freelance.

Translations

intransitive: to work as a freelance

Finnish: työskennellä freelancerina
Greek: ελεύθερος επιχειρηματίας m (eléftheros epicheirimatías), αυτοαπασχολούμενος (el) m (aftoapascholoúmenos)
Spanish: trabajar por cuenta propia, trabajar por libre (Spain)
Swedish: frilansa (sv)

transitive: to produce or sell services as a freelance

Finnish: tehdä freelancerina

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

Japanese: ^{(please verify)} フリーランス (ja) (furīransu)
Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} frilans

Finnish

Etymology

English freelance

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈfriːlɑns/, [ˈfriːlɑns̠]

Noun

freelance

(rare) Synonym of freelancer (“freelancer”)
(as modifier) freelance
freelancetoimittaja ― freelance journalist

Declension

Inflection of freelance (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
nominative		freelance	freelancet
genitive		freelancen	freelancejen
partitive		freelancea	freelanceja
illative		freelanceen	freelanceihin
		singular	plural
nominative		freelance	freelancet
accusative	nom.	freelance	freelancet
accusative	gen.	freelancen	freelancet
genitive		freelancen	freelancejen freelancein^rare
partitive		freelancea	freelanceja
inessive		freelancessa	freelanceissa
elative		freelancesta	freelanceista
illative		freelanceen	freelanceihin
adessive		freelancella	freelanceilla
ablative		freelancelta	freelanceilta
allative		freelancelle	freelanceille
essive		freelancena	freelanceina
translative		freelanceksi	freelanceiksi
instructive		—	freelancein
abessive		freelancetta	freelanceitta
comitative		—	freelanceineen

Possessive forms of freelance (type nalle)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	freelanceni	freelancemme
2nd person	freelancesi	freelancenne
3rd person	freelancensa

Compounds

freelancenäyttelijä
freelancetoimittaja
freelancetyö
freelancetyöntekijä

French

Alternative forms

free-lance

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fʁi.lɑ̃s/
Audio (file)

Adjective

freelance (plural freelances)

freelance

Noun

freelance m or f by sense (plural freelances)

freelancer

Spanish

Adjective

freelance (invariable)

freelance

Noun

freelance m (plural freelances)

freelancer