Where does “free city” come from?
free city (English) comes from English Free, from English faller, from English -er, from Middle English -er, from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti — he, she.
free city (English): Any of various types of city of Europe from classical to modern times, characterised by relative autonomy and/or being responsible only and directly to a king or emperor; a more modern city of such type, sometimes elsewhere than in Europe
Definitions
- Any of various types of city of Europe from classical to modern times, characterised by relative autonomy and/or being responsible only and directly to a king or emperor; a more modern city of such type, sometimes elsewhere than in Europe
Ancestry of “free city”, step by step
free city traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Free
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Free | Unconstrained |
| 2 | English | faller | One who falls; A fruit that falls from the tree,... |
| 3 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 4 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 5 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 6 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |