freeman
English · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
freeman¹
- /ˈfɹiː.mən/
- /ˈfɹiːˌmæn/
Where it comes from
From Old English frēomann, equivalent to free + -man and paralleled by similar constructions in other Germanic languages. Doublet of preman.
noun freemen
-
A person who is not a serf or slave.
[Editor David W. Blight said:] Deeply in need of father figures and spiritual hope, and “religiously seeking knowledge,” as he recalled it, the slave boy [the young Frederick Douglass] turned to a religious black man, a freeman named Charles Lawson, who worked as a drayman for a rope maker and lived
Opposite: nonfreeman, slave, bondsman, serf
- A burgher with full freedom of a city, as opposed to nobles, outsiders, bondsmen, and others.
- A person who has received an honorary freedom of a city.
- A person who is a citizen of a free country, as opposed to a subject of a tyranny or totalitarian dictatorship. There breathes no being but has some pretence / To that fine instinct called poetic sense; […] / The freeman, casting with unpurchased hand / The vote that shakes the turrets of the land.
- A person who immigrated to Australia freely, as opposed to those transported as convicts, or such a transported convict who has regained his freedom.
- An independent furtaker.
Freeman²
- /ˈfɹiː.mən/
Rhymes with -iːmən
Where it comes from
* Proprialisation of freeman. From originating as a freeman (instead of a serf, indentured, or some other status)
* free + man. A surname taken up by freed slaves.
proper noun Freemans · Freemon
- A surname. It appears that Drs. Jones and Freeman account for the arch over the hagioscope at St. David's by saying, though without citing authorities, that there was a door there originally.
- An English surname from Middle English.
- A freed slave surname originating as an occupation.
- A male given name transferred from the surname.
- An unincorporated community in Early County, Georgia.
- An unincorporated community in Kane County, Illinois.
- An unincorporated community in Clay Township, Owen County, Indiana.
- A township in Clare County, Michigan.
- A township in Freeborn County, Minnesota.
- A city in Hutchinson County, South Dakota.
- An unincorporated community in Spokane County, Washington.
- A town in Crawford County, Wisconsin.
- An unincorporated community in the town of Langlade, Langlade County, Wisconsin.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: freewoman, completeness, wilkerson, cardozo, independent, liberated, emancipated, freeborn, freeholder, citizen, sovereign, unenslaved, franklin, burgher, autonomous, burgess
Translations
Every language
noun person who is not a serf or slave
| Français | homme libre |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Kerl |
| Русский | во́льный vólʹnyj |
noun person who is a citizen of a free country
| 한국어 | 자유민 jayumin, 자유인 jayuin |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 自由民 jiyūmin, 自由人 jiyūjin |
| 中文 | 自由民 zìyóumín |
| Русский | свобо́дный челове́к svobódnyj čelovék |
| עברית | בֶּן חוֹרִין ben ẖorín |
Talk about this word "freeman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/freeman. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. freeman. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/freeman "freeman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/freeman.Cite this
@misc{freeman_2026,
title = {freeman},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/freeman},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
