Freedom

How to spell freedom

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce freedom

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does freedom mean?

1. nounThe state of being free to act, speak, or think without undue restriction.

Freedom in a sentence

• After years of strict rules, the new policy gave staff real freedom.

• The constitution protects the freedom of every citizen to vote.

Where does freedom come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Freedom is a thoroughly native English word, descending from the Old English freodom, which combined freo, meaning 'free' or 'not enslaved', with the suffix -dom, denoting a state, condition, or domain. That same -dom survives in everyday words such as 'kingdom', 'wisdom', and 'boredom', where it still marks a state of being. The root freo traces back to a Germanic source and is curiously linked to words for love and friendship, since the people described as 'free' in a household were originally the beloved family members rather than the enslaved labourers. The meaning settled over the centuries into the sense of liberty and the absence of restraint that we use today. Because both halves of the word are plain and phonetic, the only mild trap is remembering the double 'e' followed by the single 'd' of the -dom ending.

How the word is built

• free (Old English freo: not in bondage)
• -dom (state or condition)