Where does “freethinker” come from?
Freethinker derives from English free, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European preyH-, a root meaning to love or favor, which developed through Proto-Germanic frijaz, Proto-West Germanic frī, Old English frēo, and Middle English free to denote one not in bondage.
freethinker (English): A person who has formed their opinions using...
Definitions
- A person who has formed their opinions using...
Ancestry of “freethinker”, step by step
freethinker 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 |