An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/frei

by Friedrich Kluge

frei, adjective, ‘free, exempt, frank, voluntary,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vrî, Old High German frî; a common Teutonic stem frija-, ‘free’ (unknown only to Scandinavian), which is assumed by Gothic freis (accusative singular, masculine frijana), Anglo-Saxon frî, freó (from frija-), English free, Old Low German frî. From these are formed the abstracts — Gothic freihals, ‘freedom,’ literally ‘having one's neck free,’ Anglo-Saxon freóls, ‘freedom’ (also ‘peace, quiet’; compare freólsdœg, ‘holiday’). Scandinavian frjáls for the non existent *frîr, ‘free,’ is identical with these words, being used as an adjective signifying ‘with a free neck’; akin to Old High German and Middle High German frîhals, ‘freeman.’ A ring around the neck was an Old Teutonic mark of a slave. Although frija- prevails throughout the Teutonic group in its modern sense ‘free,’ to which Welsh ridd, ‘free’ (from prija-), also corresponds, yet there is some evidence that the meanings ‘dear, loved,’ once belonged to the adjective in earliest Teutonic; compare the corresponding abstract Gothic frijaþwa, ‘love,’ Anglo-Saxon freód (for *frijôdus), ‘love, favour,’ Anglo-Saxon frîgu, ‘love’ (also freódryhten, freóbearn); allied to Gothic frijôn, ‘to love,’ mentioned under Freund and Friede. All these derivatives point to a Teutonic root frî, ‘to cherish, spare, treat forbearingly’ (Middle High German vrî-ten, Gothic freidjan, ‘to spare’); frei in an active sense should perhaps be compared with held, which also denoted the relation of the higher to the meaner person. Frei is literally ‘loving, loved, spared.’ This sense is placed beyond doubt by the earlier history of the word — Gothic frija-, from pre-Teutonic priyó-; compare Sanscrit priyâ-s, ‘dear, favourite,’ from the root prî ‘to rejoice, make well-disposed,’ In Old Aryan the feminine of the adjective priyã means ‘spouse,’ also ‘daughter’; to this Old Saxon frî, and Anglo-Saxon freó, ‘wife,’ correspond. With the Sanscrit root prî, Old Slovenian prijaja (prijati), ‘to assist,’ prijateljĭ, ‘friend,’ are also connected. See Freitag, freien, Freund, Friede, Friedhof.