freeman English · revision 39418

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=Old English, Genesis A}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfɹiː.mən/, /ˈfɹiːˌmæn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|freman]], [[inh|ang|frēoman|t=free-born man]],^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline) a compound of [[m|ang|frēo|t=free]] and [[m|ang|mann|t=man]].^(MWU 2024)^(Webster's Third 1961) Similar compounds occur in [[ofs|frīmann]], [[dum|vrīman]] and [[goh|frīman]], which the OED regards as cognates or parallel formations from the Germanic bases of [[free]] and [[man]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A man who is personally free, not a slave or serf: Old English, in the poem ''Genesis A''.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the personal freedom of a man who was nobody's slave, the word passed to political and civic freedom.^(OED 2026) From 1387 a ''freeman'' was a person who held the freedom of a city, borough, company or guild, with the rights that went with it, a sense still used for honorary freemen of British towns.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023) In Australia from 1791 it meant a colonist who had not been transported as a convict, or a freed convict.^(OED 2026) In the North American fur trade from 1803 it meant a trapper who, having left a company's service, hunted on his own account.^(OED 2026)^(DCHP-3) British slang had ''freeman's quay'' (or ''key''), a notional place where drink was free, from 1811,^(OED 2026) and ''on the freeman's'', free of charge, is still heard.^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old English – a man who is not a slave or serf.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1387 – one who holds the freedom of a city, borough or guild.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1791 – in Australia, a colonist who was not a convict.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1803 – in North America, an independent fur trapper.^(OED 2026)^(DCHP-3)

+ * 1811 – slang ''freeman's quay'', a place of free drink.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who is free, not a [[slave]] or [[serf]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A person who enjoys full civil and political rights; a [[citizen]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A person who has been given the [[freedom]] of a city or the full membership of a company or [[guild]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(historical, Australia)'' A settler who was not a [[convict]], or a convict who had been freed.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[freedom]]

+ * [[freehold]]

+ * [[yeoman]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ As a surname, ''Freeman'' is widespread in England, especially in the Midlands and the south-east.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}