See Also: tax-free(dictionary)
free(dictionary)
free-to-air(dictionary)
free will(medicine)
free-for-all(dictionary)
free will(dictionary)
FREE(law)
Free(medicine)
fat-free(dictionary)
Free box(finance)

free will (iou)



free will noun & adjectival phr. Also free-will. ME.
[from FREE adjective + WILL noun1, translating late (eccl.) Latin liberum arbitrium, whence French libre arbitre.]
A. noun.
Spontaneous will, inclination to act without suggestion from others. ME.
Bible (AV): Ezra 7:13 All they..which are minded of their owne free-will to goe vp to Ierusalem.
The power of directing one's own actions unconstrained by necessity or fate. ME.
Hobbes The third way of bringing things to pass, distinct from necessity and chance, namely freewill.
b. attrib. or as adjective. (Usu. free-will.) Given readily or spontaneously, voluntary. M16.
Bosworth Smith The free-will offerings of their golden ornaments by the Libyan women.
Comb.: Free Will Baptist a member of a N. American sect, of Welsh origin, of Arminian Baptists.
freewiller noun (arch., derog.) a believer in the doctrine of free will, esp. an Arminian L17.