libre
li·bre/ˈlibɹə/adjective, noun
libre is spelled L-I-B-R-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables (li·bre). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, libre means “With very few limitations on distribution or the right to access the source code to create improved versions, but not necessarily free of charge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in libre?
| Letters | 5: L-I-B-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: li·bre |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is libre?
Libre appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce libre?
- UK /ˈliːbɹə/
- US /ˈlibɹə/
- UK /ˈliːbɹeɪ/
Libre has 2 syllables, split li·bre in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-Libra.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with libre?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as libre (/ibɹə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: liber.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of libre
- libres plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does libre mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
obsoleterareEspecially of the will: free, independent, unconstrained.
- 2
With very few limitations on distribution or the right to access the source code to create improved versions, but not necessarily free of charge.
- 3
Not enslaved (of a black person in a French- or Spanish-colonized area, especially New Orleans).
For quotations using this term, see Citations:libre.
noun
- 1
A free (not enslaved) black person in a French- or Spanish-colonized area, especially New Orleans.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:libre.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Libre in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense (software) with very few limitations on distribution or improvement:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does libre come from?
The obsolete “unconstrained” sense is borrowed from French libre (“at liberty”; “free” as in “clear”, “vacant”, “without obligation”), from Latin līber (“free, unrestricted”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“people”), whence obsolete English lede (“person(s)”), English leud, and German Leute. The software and the unenslaved senses are either borrowed from the above French, or from its Spanish cognate libre, of the same meaning and Latin etymon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).