freelance
UK /ˈfɹiːlɑːns/ · US /ˈfɹiˌlæns/ noun, adjective, verb
Forms freelances freelancing freelanced free-lance free lance
- noun Someone who sells their services to clients without a long-term employment contract.
- noun (historical) A medieval mercenary.
- adjective Of or relating to a freelance; without a long-term employment contract. “He was a freelance writer for several magazines.”
- verb (intransitive) To work as a freelance.
- verb (transitive) To produce or sell services as a freelance.
Synonyms
adventurer bravo condottiere filibuster freebooter free companion hired gun hireling hit man merc mercenary private military contractor sellsword soldier of fortune freelancer free-lance free lance independent self-employed person self-employed
Antonyms
Etymology
From free + lance. Coined by Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Ivanhoe (1819; see quotation) to describe a medieval mercenary warrior or "free-lance" (indicating that the lance is not sworn to any lord's services). It changed to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was recognized as a verb in 1903 by authorities such as the Oxford English Dictionary. In modern times the term has morphed into an adjective, a verb, and an adverb, as well as the derivative noun freelancer.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “freelance”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details