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free¹

  • /fɹiː/ UK
  • [fɹɪi̯] UK
  • /fɹɪj/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /fɹi/ US

Sounds like three (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -iː

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *preyH-

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *priHós

Proto-Germanic *frijwaz

Proto-West Germanic *friu

Old English frēo

Middle English fre

English free

From Middle English fre, from Old English frēo, frēoh, frī, friġ, frīoh (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“pleased, loved”), from *preyH- (“to please; to love”). Related to friend.

cognates, etc

Germanic cognates include Scots fre (“free”), North Frisian frai, frei, fri, Frii (“free”), Saterland Frisian fräi (“free”), West Frisian frij (“free”), Dutch vrij (“free”), German frei (“free”), Low German free (“free”), Luxembourgish fräi (“free”), Vilamovian frȧj (“free”), Yiddish פֿרײַ (fray, “free”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish fri (“free”), Faroese fríur (“free”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis, “free”).

Other cognates include Cornish rydh (“free”), Welsh rhydd (“free”), Latin propriō (“to appropriate”), Czech přát (“to wish; to favour”), Polish sprzyjać (“to favour, foster”), Serbo-Croatian прѝјати, prìjati (“to please, taste, suit; to be agreeable, relish”), Slovak priať (“to wish”), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 (friia, “good, pleasant”), Persian فری (fari, “beloved, dear; agreeable, pleasing”), Sanskrit प्रिय (priya, “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").

adjective freer · more free · freest · most free

  1. Unconstrained. He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted.
  2. Not imprisoned or enslaved. Free Blacks
  3. Generous; liberal. He's very free with his money.
  4. obsolete Clear of offence or crime; guiltless; innocent. My hands are guilty, but my heart is free.
  5. Without obligations. free time
  6. To be enjoyed by anyone freely. a free school
  7. Upholding individual rights. the Free World
  8. With no or only freedom-preserving limitations on distribution or modification. OpenOffice is free software.
  9. Intended for release, and omitting debugging diagnostics, as opposed to a checked version.
  10. Obtainable without any payment. The government provides free health care.
  11. broadly Complimentary. Buy a TV to get a free DVD player!
  12. abstract Left adjoint to a forgetful functor G; such that any map f:X→G(A) induces a universal map ̄f:F(X)→A.
  13. abstract Belonging to the image of some free functor.
  14. abstract Having a set of generators which satisfy no non-trivial relations; equivalently, being the group of reduced words on a set of generators. The fundamental group of the figure eight is free of rank 2.
  15. abstract Having a linearly independent set of generators (called a basis).
  16. abstract Unconstrained by quantifiers. z is the free variable in #92;forallx#92;existsy#58;xy#61;z.
  17. abstract Unconstrained of identifiers, not bound.
  18. abstract (of a morpheme) That can be used by itself, unattached to another morpheme.
  19. physical Unobstructed, without blockages. the drain was free
  20. physical Unattached or uncombined. a free radical
  21. physical Not currently in use; not taken; unoccupied. You can sit on this chair; it's free.
  22. physical Not attached; loose. In this group of mushrooms, the gills are free.
  23. physical Of a rocket or missile: not under the control of a guidance system after being launched.
  24. Without; not containing (what is specified); exempt; clear; liberated. We had a wholesome, filling meal, free of meat.  I would like to live free from care in the mountains.
  25. dated Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited. a free horse
  26. dated Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; followed by of. He therefore makes all birds, of every sect, / Free of his farm.
  27. UK, obsolete Certain or honourable; the opposite of base. free service;  free socage
  28. Privileged or individual; proprietary. a free fishery;  a free warren
  29. US, slang Having oversteer.

adverb more free · most free

  1. Without needing to pay. I got this bike free.
  2. obsolete Freely; willingly. I as free forgive you / As I would be forgiven.

free²

  • /fɹiː/ UK
  • [fɹɪi̯] UK
  • /fɹɪj/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /fɹi/ US

Sounds like three (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -iː

Where it comes from

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-, and is cognate with German freien, Dutch vrijen, Czech přát, Serbo-Croatian prijati, Polish sprzyjać.

verb frees · freeing · freed

  1. transitive To make free; set at liberty; release. Pro.[…]Spirit, fine ſpirit, Ile free thee / Within two dayes for this.
  2. transitive To rid of something that confines or oppresses. 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
  3. transitive To relinquish (previously allocated memory) to the system. There is no way to access that original area of memory, nor is there any way to free it before the program ends.

Similar: befree, emancipate, let loose, liberate, manumit, release, unchain, unfetter, unshackle

free³

  • /fɹiː/ UK
  • [fɹɪi̯] UK
  • /fɹɪj/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /fɹi/ US

Sounds like three (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -iː

noun frees

  1. abbreviation Abbreviation of free kick.free kick Whether deserved or not, the free gave Cresswell the chance to cover himself in glory with a shot on goal after the siren.
  2. A free transfer. Hargreaves, who left Manchester United on a free during the summer, drilled a 22-yard beauty to open the scoring.
  3. The usual means of restarting play after a foul is committed, where the non-offending team restarts from where the foul was committed.
  4. abbreviation, informal Abbreviation of freestyle.freestyle The team won the 200 meters free relay.

free⁴

  • /fɹiː/ UK
  • [fɹɪi̯] UK
  • /fɹɪj/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /fɹi/ US

Sounds like three (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -iː

number

  1. colloquial, pronunciation spelling Pronunciation spelling of three

Free⁵

  • /fɹiː/

Where it comes from

English surname, from Old English freo (“freeborn”).

proper noun Frees

  1. countable, uncountable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Parish Grove Township, Benton County, Indiana, United States.

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