English Explanatory Dictionary

freelance

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Someone who sells their services to clients without a long-term employment contract.
  2. A medieval mercenary.
adj
  1. Of or relating to a freelance; without a long-term employment contract.
verb
  1. To work as a freelance.
  2. To produce or sell services as a freelance.

Pronunciation

/ˈfɹiːlɑːns/ /ˈfɹiˌlæns/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-freelance.wav

Word forms

freelance freelances free-lance free lance more freelance most freelance freelancing freelanced

Etymology

From free + lance. Coined by Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Ivanhoe (1819; see quotation) to describe a medieval mercenary warrior or "free-lance" (indicating that the lance is not sworn to any lord's services). It changed to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was recognized as a verb in 1903 by authorities such as the Oxford English Dictionary. In modern times the term has morphed into an adjective, a verb, and an adverb, as well as the derivative noun freelancer.

Synonyms

adventurer bravo condottiere filibuster freebooter freelance free companion hired gun hireling hit man merc mercenary private military contractor sellsword soldier of fortune

Derived words

freelancer
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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