unfree

English

Etymology

From Middle English unfre, from Old English [Term?], from Proto-West Germanic *unfrī; cognates include Middle High German unfrī (German unfrei), Middle Low German unvrī, Middle Dutch onvri (Dutch onvrij). By surface analysis, un- +‎ free.

Adjective

unfree (comparative more unfree or unfreer or unfree-er, superlative most unfree or unfreest or unfree-est)

1. Not free; lacking freedom, especially (historical) of a tenant who was bound to a manor.
   • 2006, James R. Otteson, Actual Ethics, page 17:

     Economically free countries enjoy decentralized power, whereas the power in economically unfree countries is centralized.

Related terms

• nonfree

 

Translations

not free

• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀνελεύθερος (aneleútheros)

Noun

unfree (plural unfrees)

1. (historical) A person lacking freedom, such as a tenant bound to a manor.
   • 1863, James Paterson, History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton (parts 1-2, page ccviii)

     The commissioners then proceeded to consider the various petitions and remonstrances of the unfrees, and to determine the amount to be levied from each.