Where does “freelancer” come from?
Freelancer derives from English free combined with English lance, ultimately tracing through Old French -er and Latin -are to Proto-Indo-European preyH-.
freelancer (English): one who freelances
Definitions
- one who freelances
Ancestry of “freelancer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | freelance | Someone who sells their services to clients... |
| 2 | English | Free | Unconstrained |
| 3 | English | faller | One who falls; A fruit that falls from the tree,... |
| 4 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 5 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 6 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 7 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |