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)

obiter (iou) and free(2) (iou)


obiter (iou)



obiter adverb, noun, & adjective. L16.
[Latin, orig. two words, ob itur by the way.]
A. adverb. By the way, in passing, incidentally. L16.
b. noun. A thing said, done, or occurring by the way; an incidental matter. Also, an obiter dictum. E17.
C. adjective. Made or said by the way; incidental. M18.

free(2) (iou)



free adjective, noun, & adverb. [fri:]
[Old English freo = Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German fri (Dutch vrij, German frei), Gothic freis, from Germanic from Indo-European, repr. by Sanskrit priya dear, from base meaning 'to love'.]
A. adjective.
I.
Of a person: not or no longer in bondage, servitude, or subjection to another, having personal rights and social and political liberty as a member of a society or State. OE.
B. Russell Sympathy not only for free Greeks, but for barbarians and slaves. Country Life She wanted to be an artist and a free woman, refusing to be called 'Mrs'. fig.: J. Denham Who..free from Conscience, is a slave to Fame.
Noble, honourable, of gentle birth and breeding. Also, (of character and conduct) noble, honourable, generous, magnanimous. OE-M17.
Shakespeare Othello I would not have your free and noble Nature Out of self-bounty be abus'd. Milton Thou Goddess fair and free.
Of a State, its citizens, and institutions: enjoying national and civil liberty, not subject to foreign domination or despotic or tyrannous government. ME.
Shakespeare Cymbeline Till the injurious Romans did extort This tribute from us, we were free. S. Smiles Holland..became the chief European centre of free thought, free Religion, and free industry.
b. spec. Designating (freq. with cap. initial) a political or racial group actively opposed to an invading, occupying, or hostile power; esp. denoting those who continued resistance to Germany in the war of 1939-45 after the capitulation of their respective countries. M20.
C. Graves The scattered remnants of the Free French, Free Dutch, Free Polish, and Free Norwegian fleets.
II.
Acting from one's own will or choice and not compelled or constrained; determining one's own action or choice without outside motivation. OE.
E. A. Freeman The choice of the electors would be perfectly free.
Ready to do or grant something; acting willingly or spontaneously; (of an act) done of one's own accord; (of an offer or agreement) readily given or made, made with good will. ME.
b. Of a horse: ready to go, willing. L15.
c. Ready to do something; eager, willing, prompt. obsolete exc. in free to confess below, where the adjective is now understood as sense 16b. M17.
J. Clare Mark..his generous mind; How free he is to push about his beer.
Ready to give, liberal, lavish. Foll. by of. ME.
S. Butler For Saints themselves will sometimes be Of Gifts that cost them nothing, free.
b. (Of a gift) given out of liberality or generosity, not in return or requital for something; unrequested, unsolicited. LME.
(Of speech) characterized by liberty in the expression of sentiments or opinions; uttered or expressed without reserve; plain-spoken. ME.
H. Nelson Gave Lord Hood my free opinion that 800 troops..would take Bastia. L. J. Jennings Men used rather free expressions to each Other..in the days of the Regency.
b. Not observing due bounds, licentious, loose. M19.
Tennyson Earl Limours Drank till he jested with all ease, and told Free tales.
Acting without restriction or limitation; allowing oneself ample scope in doing something. L16.
Pope How free the present age is in laying taxes on the next. H. Bracken He gives us a Caution not to be too free with such Preparations. G. Berkeley The free use of strong fermented liquors.
b. Unstinted as to supply or quantity; coming forth in profusion; administered without stint; abundant, copious. M17.
S. Baring-Gould A monthly rose that was a free bloomer.
Frank and open in conversation or dealings; ingenuous, unreserved. Also, forward, familiar, impudent. M17.
Defoe I pressed him to be free and plain with me. R. B. Sheridan Not so free, fellow!
III.
a. Usu. foll. by from, of: released or exempt from, not liable to (a rule, penalty, or payment). OE.
Ld Macaulay Free from all the ordinary rules of morality.
b. Exempt from, having immunity from, not subject to (something regarded as hurtful or undesirable). ME.
J. Ferriar Our own writers are not free from this error. N. Lindley The point..appears to me..free from any real difficulty.
Exempt from, or not subject to, some particular jurisdiction or lordship. Also, possessed of particular rights and privileges. ME.
Of real property: held without obligation on rent or service, freehold. arch. ME.
Given or provided without charge or payment, gratuitous. Also, admitted, carried, or placed without charge or payment. ME.
Dryden Lazy Drones, without their Share of Pain, In winter Quarters free, devour the Gain.
Invested with the rights or immunities of or of, admitted to the privileges of or of (a chartered company, corporation, city, or the like). LME.
J. Locke Is a Man under the Law of England? What made him Free of that Law? J. Entick The shop-keepers are obliged to be free of the city.
b. Allowed the use or enjoyment of (a place etc.). L17.
Keats And I was free of haunts umbrageous.
Exempt from restrictions with regard to trade; not subject to tax, toll, or duty; allowed to trade in any market. M17.
IV.
Not impeded, restrained, or restricted in actions, activity, or movement; unhampered, unfettered. ME.
A. Radcliffe Her dress..was loosened for the purpose of freer respiration. B. Jowett The various passions are allowed to have free play.
b. At liberty, allowed, or permitted to do something. LME.
Dickens She was free to come and go.
c. Unbiased, open-minded. Long rare or obsolete. M17.
Clear of obstruction; not blocked; open, unobstructed. ME.
J. Narborough They did meet with no Ice, but a free and open Sea. Sir W. Scott And quickly make the entrance free.
Clear of something regarded as objectionable or an encumbrance. Foll. by of, from. ME.
R. Holme A Woman all Hairy, no part of her Face free. C. Lucas There is hardly any mine..free from pyrite.
Guiltless, innocent, acquitted. Now rare or obsolete. ME.
At liberty; able to move about or range at will; esp. not kept in confinement or custody, released from confinement or imprisonment; liberated. LME.
Ld Macaulay Deer, as free as in an American forest. J. Morley Calvin..set free all those souls. Times He wanted the accused to be allowed to go free.
Of a material: yielding easily to operation; easily worked; loose and soft in structure. E16.
J. Smeaton This stone was capable of being thus wrought, and was so free to the tool.
b. Of wood: without knots. L17.
Not fixed, fastened, or held in one particular place. L16.
Milton The tawny lion, pawing to get free His hinder parts.
Released from ties, obligations, and restraints. L16.
Shakespeare Anthony & Cleopatra Free, madam! no..He's bound unto Octavia.
b. Released or exempt from work or duty; clear of engagements; (of a room, table, etc.) not occupied or in use. E17.
G. Burnet Coleman had a whole day free to make his escape. E. Waugh There is no table free. K. Amis What about lunch today? Are you free?
Allowable or allowed (to or for a person to do something); open or permitted to. arch. L16.
J. Jackson It was free to everyone to bastinado a Christian where he met him.
b. Linguistics. Designating a form that can occur in isolation. E20.
c. Phonetics. Of a vowel: occurring in a syllable not ended by a consonant. M20.
Disengaged from contact or connection with some Other body or surface; relieved from the pressure of an adjacent or superincumbent body. E18.
Robert Knox At the free surface of the mucous membrane.
Of a literary or artistic style: not observing strict laws of form. Of a translation: not adhering strictly to the original, not literal. E19.
Chemistry. Not combined. E19.
Physics. Of a source of power: disengaged, available to do work. E19.
Nautical. Of the wind: not adverse. M19.
R. H. Dana We had the wind free..sail after sail the captain piled on her.
Phrases: be free with: see make free with below. free and easy adjectival, adverbial, & noun phr. (a) adjectival phr. unconstrained, natural, unaffected; unceremonious; careless, slipshod; morally lax, permissive; free and easiness, a state or manner of being free and easy; (b) adverbial phr. (rare) in a free and easy manner; (c) noun phr. (arch. slang) a convivial gathering. free on board, free on rail, etc., without charge for delivery to a ship, a railway wagon, etc. free to confess ready and willing to make a confession. free, white, and over twenty-one colloq. not subject to another person's control or authority, independent. it's a free country colloq. the (course of) action proposed is not illegal or forbidden. make free with, be free with take liberties with. set free: see SET verb1. Wee Free Kirk: see WEE adjective.
b. absol. as noun.
A person of noble birth or breeding; a knight or lady. OE-M16.
A free person. Long only as collect. pl., the class of free people. ME.
Land of the Free: see LAND noun1.
(Free.)
a. The Free Church of Scotland, (later) The United Free Church. Scot. colloq. M19.
b. A member of the Free Church of Scotland or (later) the United Free Church; Wee Free: see WEE adjective. Scot. colloq. L19.
Football. A free kick. M19.
A free thing; esp. something for which no charge is made. E20.
for free, (provided) without cost or payment. colloq. (orig. US). M20.
C. adverb.
In a free manner; freely; esp. without cost or payment. ME.
free, gratis, and for nothing colloq. absolutely without charge.
Dryden Achitophel..Disdain'd the golden Fruit to gather free. G. Semple The Middle of the Current of the River, runs the freest.
Nautical. Not close-hauled. E19.
F. Marryat We were going about four knots and a half free.
Special collocations & comb.: free agent: see AGENT noun 4. free alms = FRANKALMOIGN. free association Psychology the statement, by a person under test, of ideas evoked by those specified by the tester, without further suggestion or control by the tester; an idea or feeling so evoked. free ball Snooker the right to nominate any ball as the object ball, as a result of being snookered by a foul stroke; a ball so nominated. freebase noun & verb (a) noun cocaine purified by heating with ether, and taken by inhaling the fumes or smoking the residue; (b) verb trans. purify (cocaine) thus. free bench: see BENCH noun 6. free-born adjective (a) born to the rights and liberty of a citizen, not born to slavery; (b) of, pertaining to, or befitting a free-born person. Free Church (a) gen. a Church free from State control, esp. the Nonconformist as opp. to the Established Church; (b) spec. (Hist., more fully Free Church of Scotland) the Church formed by ministers seceding from the Scottish Presbyterian establishment (1843), which amalgamated with the United Presbyterian Church to form the United Free Church in 1900. free city (a) Hist. a medieval sovereign city-state in Germany; (b) a semi-autonomous city under the authority of an international body. free electron an electron not bound in an atom or molecule. free energy spec. a thermodynamic property of a system that represents ability to do work. free enterprise the freedom of private business from State control. free expression the uninhibited expression of one's thoughts, feelings, and creative capacities. free fall motion under the force of gravity only, ballistic flight; unpowered motion in space; esp. the part of a parachute descent occurring before the parachute opens. free-fall verb intrans. move in a free fall. free fight: in which all present may join. free float (in critical path analysis) a float that can be utilized with no adverse effect on the timing of subsequent processes. free-for-all adjective & noun (designating or pertaining to) a fight that is open to all, an unrestricted contest or discussion. free gift: made not in return for anything; esp. an object given away by a firm in order to promote Sales of a product. free grace the unmerited favour of God. free hand the right of acting completely at one's own discretion, esp. in relation to a particular undertaking (chiefly in give a free hand, have a free hand). free-hand adjective (of a drawing) made without artificial aid to the hand. free-handed adjective generous, esp. with money. free-handedly adverb generously. free-handedness open-handedness, generosity. free-hearted adjective having a free heart; frank, open, unreserved; not burdened by anxiety, guilt, or suspicion; impulsive; generous, liberal. free house a public house or inn that does not belong to a brewery and may thus sell any brewer's liquor. free kick Football a kick which the opposing team are not allowed to hinder or block (under different rules for different forms of the game), as one allowed against a team committing an infringement or in Other defined circumstances. Free Kirk (a) Hist. the Free Church of Scotland; (b) the minority of the Free Church of Scotland which stood apart when the main body amalgamated with the United Presbyterian Church to form the United Free Church in 1900. free labour (a) labour of people who are free, not slaves; (b) labour of people who are not members of a trade union. free library: available for use without payment. free list: of persons or things to be admitted free of payment, duty, etc. free-liver a person who gives free indulgence to the appetites, esp. eating. free-living adjective (a) (of a person) that is a free-liver; (b) Biology living freely and independently, not attached to a substrate; esp. not parasitic or symbiotic. freeload verb intrans. (slang) behave as a freeloader. freeloader slang a person who eats or Drinks or is accommodated free of charge, a sponger. free love (the doctrine permitting) sexual relations irrespective of Marriage. free lunch (orig. US) a lunch given gratis, esp. by barkeepers to attract custom; fig. (with allusion to the proverb there's no such thing as a free lunch) something for nothing. free market: in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition. free pardon: see PARDON noun 4b. free pass (a document giving the holder) the right to Travel on a railway etc. or to enter a place of Entertainment without paying. free path Physics (a) the distance which a molecule or Other particle traverses without encountering another particle or colliding with a containing wall; (b) the distance a sound wave travels between successive reflections from the walls of an enclosure; (in both senses chiefly in mean free path s.v. MEAN adjective2). free period a period in the regular timetable of an educational establishment during which a particular teacher or student has no definitely assigned duties. free place a place in a secondary fee-paying school awarded without charge to a particular student. free port (a) a port open to all traders; (b) a port area where goods are exempt from customs duty during loading and unloading. Free Presbyterian Church: see PRESBYTERIAN adjective 1. free-quarter Hist. (a) the obligation or impost of having to provide free board and lodging for troops; (b) the right of troops to be billeted in free quarters; the necessity for troops of having to find free quarters. free radical Chemistry an uncharged atom or group of atoms having one or more unpaired electrons available for bonding. free range US open pasture-land. free-range adjective designating (eggs or meat from) hens or Other domestic fowl, or Other animals raised for Food, given some freedom of movement in seeking their own Food. free rein: see REIN noun1. freeride noun & verb (a) noun a type of snowboard designed for all-round use on and off piste; (b) verb intrans. ride such a snowboard, especially when not competing in races or performing tricks. free school (a) (chiefly Hist.) a school at which no fees are charged; (b) an independent school run on the basis of freedom from restriction for the pupils. free selection Austral. History = SELECTION 4. free skating a competitive programme of variable skating figures performed to Music. free soil US History territory in which slaveholding was prohibited; attrib. pertaining to or designating a 19th-cent. political party opposing the extension of slavery beyond the original slave States. free space Physics: unoccupied by matter or by any electromagnetic or gravitational fields. free speech the right to express opinions of any kind without incurring a penalty. free-spoken adjective not concealing one's opinions, frank, blunt. free-standing adjective not attached or connected to another structure, not supported by a structural framework. free State (a) a State not subject to another; rare a republic; (b) US History a State of the US in which slavery did not exist. Free Stater a native, inhabitant, or supporter of a particular free State, esp. (Hist.) of the Orange Free State or of the Irish Free State. free stock plants grown from seed to be used as rootstocks in grafting. free-style adjective (a) gen. (of movement) unrestricted; (b) spec. (of a swimming-race) in which any style of stroke may be used; (of wrestling) with few restrictions on the holds permitted. free-tailed adjective: free-tailed bat, a molossid, spec. one of the genus Tadarida. freethinker a person who refuses to submit the reasoning process to the control of authority in religious belief; a rationalist. freethinking noun & adjective (a) noun free thought; (b) adjective holding the principles of freethinkers. free thought the free Exercise of reason in matters of religious belief, rationalism. free trade (a) an open and unrestricted trade; (b) trade or commerce left to follow its natural course without restriction on imports etc.; (c) arch. trade which evades the lawful customs duties, smuggling. free-trader a person who takes part in free trade; an adherent of free trade. free vector Math. a vector of which only the magnitude and direction are specified, not the position or line of action. free verse = VERS LIBRE. free vote a parliamentary vote not made subject to party discipline. free warren: see WARREN noun1 1b. freeware Computing Software that is available without charge. freeway (orig. US) an express highway, esp. with restricted access; a toll-free highway. free wheel the driving-wheel of a bicycle able to revolve with the pedals at rest; a wheel or propeller that can run free of a clutch or Other connection with motive power. free-wheel verb intrans. ride a bicycle without pedalling, coast; fig. move or act without effort or constraint. free world the non-Communist countries collectively (as referred to by them).