English

freewoman

From free + woman.

A compound of free + woman

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

Old English wīfmann

Middle English womman ‘a female adult person’

English woman

Today it means

noun A woman who is not a serf or slave.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / freewoman