English
freedom
Freedom comes from Middle English fredom, from Old English frēodōm, from Proto-West Germanic *frijadōm; equivalent to free + -dom.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*frijadōm‘freedom’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150frēodōm‘freedom’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fredom‘freedom’
- Englishearliest quotation 1748freedom
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*frijadōm‘freedom’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150frēodōm‘freedom’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fredom‘freedom’
- Englishearliest quotation 1748freedom
Earliest quotation: 1748, Samuel Richardson, Letter L: “I doubt not, that you will take amiss my…”
Formed from free + -dom
Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please; to love’
…
Proto-Germanic *frijaz ‘free’
Proto-West Germanic *frī ‘free’
Old English frēo ‘free, at liberty’
Middle English fre ‘having the status of a freeman’
English free
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’
friend, fray, impropriety, 6 more
through Proto-Indo-European *priHós ‘beloved’
Today it means
noun The state of being free.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *frijadōm / freedom