Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “-frēo” come from?

-frēo (Old English) comes from Old English frēo, from Proto-Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic frijaz, from Proto-Indo-European priHós, from Proto-Indo-European preyH- — to love, to please.

Ancestry of “-frēo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishfrēofree, joyful
2Proto-Germanic*frī—
3Proto-Germanicfrijazfree
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanpriHósdear, beloved; happy, free
5Proto-Indo-EuropeanpreyH-to love, to please

Words derived from “-frēo”

  • carefree
  • riskfree
  • handsfree
  • glutenfree
  • painfree
  • errorfree
  • meshfree
  • sugarfree
  • drugfree
  • stressfree
  • scalefree
  • carefreeness
  • hasslefree
  • squarefree
  • saltfree
  • guiltfree
  • crimefree
  • dustfree
  • cloudfree
  • lintfree
  • envyfree
  • waterfree
  • bugfree
  • carfree
Every word from Proto-Indo-European preyH- →