Why is free climbing called free climbing?

Most of the climbing done in modern times is considered free climbing—climbing using one's own physical strength, with equipment used solely as protection and not as support—as opposed to aid climbing, the gear-dependent form of climbing that was dominant in the sport's earlier days. Free climbing is typically divided into several styles that differ from one another depending on the choice of equipment used and the configurations of their belay, rope and anchor systems.

Free climbing is named so because it is performed solely using one's own physical strength, "free" from any support from equipment other than as protection. That is, gear is never used to help a climber actually climb, only to catch them in case they fall.