free (English, verb)
Pronunciation: enpr: frē
ipa: /fɹiː/
ipa: [fɹɪi̯]
rhymes: -iː
homophone: three (th-fronting)
Etymology: From Middle English free, fre, freo, from Old English frēo (“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, love”). Related to friend.
cognates, etc
Germanic cognates include West Frisian frij (“free”), Dutch vrij (“free”), Low German free (“free”), German frei (“free”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian fri (“free”).
Other cognates include Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “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").
The verb comes 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.
Definitions: examples: text: Pro.[…]Spirit, fine ſpirit, Ile free thee / Within two dayes for this.
ref: 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 5:
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glosses: To make free; set at liberty; release.
tags: transitive
examples: text: 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 vow to Allah Almighty to forswear travel; and if I perish I shall be at peace and shall rest from toil and moil."
ref: 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 564:
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info_templates: args: 1: en
2: :from
name: +obj
extra_data: words: from
expansion: [with from]
glosses: To rid of something that confines or oppresses.
tags: transitive
examples: text: There is no way to access that original area of memory, nor is there any way to free it before the program ends.
ref: 2002, Jesse Liberty, SAMS Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours, page 148:
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topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
programming
sciences
glosses: To relinquish (previously allocated memory) to the system.
tags: transitive
Forms: form: frees
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: freeing
tags: participle
present
form: freed
tags: participle
past
form: freed
tags: past
Synonyms: befree
emancipate
let loose
liberate
manumit
release
unchain
unfetter
unshackle
Derived terms: befree
free up