freely

freely

English

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: frē'lē, IPA^(key): /ˈfɹili/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːli

Etymology 1

From Middle English frely, freelich, from Old English frēolīc (“free, freeborn, glorious, stately, magnificent, noble, beautiful, charming”), equivalent to free +‎ -ly. Compare Middle Low German vrilik, vrigelik (“free”), Middle High German vrīlich (“free”).

Alternative forms

• frely (Scotland)

Adjective

freely (comparative freelier or more freely, superlative freeliest or most freely)

1. Free; frank.
2. Generous; noble; excellent; beautiful; lovely.

Derived terms

• unfreely

Etymology 2

From Middle English frely, freliche, from Old English frēolīċe (“freely, readily, as a festival”), equivalent to free +‎ -ly. Compare Dutch vrijelijk (“freely”), German freilich (“certainly, of course”).

Adverb

freely (comparative freelier or more freely, superlative freeliest or most freely)

1. In a free manner.

   Wine was flowing freely.

2. Without interference or restriction.

   talk freely

   • 1961 February, ""Balmore"", “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives - Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 110:

     I found that the Chapelon steamed almost too freely, because on a strange locomotive and road one usually tends to overfire a little through a natural lack of confidence.

3. Of one's own free will.

   I will freely help you.

Derived terms

• breathe freely

Translations

in a free manner

Bulgarian: свободно (bg) (svobodno) Catalan: lliurement (ca) Esperanto: laŭvole French: librement (fr) Galician: libremente German: frei (de) Italian: liberamente (it) Latin: spontē, līberē Lithuanian: laisvai Old English: frēoliċe Polish: swobodnie (pl) Portuguese: livremente (pt) Russian: свобо́дно (ru) (svobódno), во́льно (ru) (vólʹno) Spanish: libremente Telugu: ఉచితముగా (te) (ucitamugā)

without interference or restriction

Greek: Ancient: ἀνέδην (anédēn) Latin: līberē

See also

• frankly
• openly
• costlessly

References

• “freely”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.