freedom

the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint See note at liberty .

• absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government

• the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved

• the state of being physically unrestricted and able to move easily

• the power of self-determination attributed to the will; the quality of being independent of fate or necessity.

• archaic: familiarity or openness in speech or behavior.

ORIGIN Old English (see free , -dom ). of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vrij and German frei, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to love,’ shared by friend .