# free

> English word · Adjective · IPA /fɹiː/ · frequency rank #211

## Definitions
1. Unconstrained.
2. Unconstrained.
3. Unconstrained.
4. Unconstrained.
5. Unconstrained.
6. Unconstrained.
7. Unconstrained.
8. Unconstrained.
9. Unconstrained.
10. Obtainable without any payment.
11. Obtainable without any payment.
12. Unconstrained.
13. Unconstrained.
14. Unconstrained.
15. Unconstrained.
16. Unconstrained.
17. Unconstrained.
18. Unconstrained.
19. Unconstrained.
20. Unconstrained.
21. Unconstrained.
22. Unconstrained.
23. Unconstrained.
24. Without; not containing (what is specified); exempt; clear; liberated.
25. Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited.
26. Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; followed by of.
27. Certain or honourable; the opposite of base.
28. Privileged or individual; proprietary.
29. Having oversteer.

## 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 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 and Swedish fri (“free”), Faroese fríur (“free”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis, “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").

## Easily confused with
- **fry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fry)
- **fro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fro)
- **FTE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fte)
- **from** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-from)
- **fuel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fuel)
- **frog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-frog)
- **fuse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fuse)
- **fret** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fret)
- **Frey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-frey)
- **FTSE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-ftse)
- **fume** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fume)
- **fresh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fresh)
- **fried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fried)
- **freed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-freed)
- **fries** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fries)
- **Freud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-freud)
- **froze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-froze)
- **frees** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-frees)
- **freer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-freer)
- **fryer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-fryer)

## Common misspellings (5)
`fere`, `ffree`, `fre`, `frree`, `rfee`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/free