freebie

Etymology

It is formed from English from free, the adjective,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} with the ending “-bie”, apparently an arbitrary rhyming extension; the later forms in “-ie” are compared with the suffix -y.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged takes it as an alteration of an obsolete slang word “freeby”, free of charge, itself an irregular formation from free.^[7] Barnhart explains “freebee” or “freeby” as free with a suffix “-bee” or “-by”, the ending “-ie” with a b inserted.^[8] Dictionary.com calls the ending of uncertain origin and suggests a phrase “free bee”, with the “bee” of the phrase “put the bee on”, to borrow money one does not mean to repay.^[9] Etymonline compares newbie and rudesby.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Something given free, often to promote something: 1925, in the Inter-State Tattler.^[2] Merriam-Webster and Green's Dictionary of Slang date it to 1928, in R. Fisher's The Walls of Jericho, where freeby means free tickets to a theatre.^[7][10]

Semantic evolution

The word began in American slang,^{[4][5][10][8]} and was spelled freebee, freeby and freebye as well as freebie.^[10] The adjective, free of charge, appears from 1937, and of a person, seeking to get something without paying.^[2] Barnhart and Etymonline put the adjective earlier than the noun (1942 against 1946),^[8][3] but the OED's revised entry has the noun first.^[2] Green's Dictionary of Slang links it especially with free samples, trips and press tours,^[10] and in 1967 it is recorded as a verb, of a prostitute giving her services without charge.^[10]

Timeline

• 1925 – noun, something given free.^[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date the noun to 1946.^[3][8]
• 1928 – freeby, free tickets to a theatre.^[10][7]
• 1937 – adjective, provided free.^[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date it to 1942.^[3][8]
• 1967 – verb, of a prostitute, to give her services without charge.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (informal) Something given or received without charge, such as a free ticket, a free sample or free hospitality: The reporters left the launch with bags of freebies.^[11][7][4]

Adjective

1. (informal) Free of charge: a freebie lunch.^[11][4][2]

Related words

• free

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c d e f g Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins