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Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *preyH-

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *priHós

Proto-Germanic *frijwaz

Proto-West Germanic *friu

Old English frēo

Middle English fre

English free

From Middle English fre, from Old English frēo, frēoh, frī, friġ, frīoh (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“pleased, loved”), from *preyH- (“to please; to love”). Related to friend. cognates, etc

Germanic cognates include Scots fre (“free”), North Frisian frai, frei, fri, Frii (“free”), Saterland Frisian fräi (“free”), West Frisian frij (“free”), Dutch vrij (“free”), German frei (“free”), Low German free (“free”), Luxembourgish fräi (“free”), Vilamovian frȧj (“free”), Yiddish פֿרײַ (fray, “free”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish fri (“free”), Faroese fríur (“free”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis, “free”).

Other cognates include Cornish rydh (“free”), Welsh rhydd (“free”), Latin propriō (“to appropriate”), Czech přát (“to wish; to favour”), Polish sprzyjać (“to favour, foster”), Serbo-Croatian прѝјати, prìjati (“to please, taste, suit; to be agreeable, relish”), Slovak priať (“to wish”), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 (friia, “good, pleasant”), Persian فری (fari, “beloved, dear; agreeable, pleasing”), Sanskrit प्रिय (priya, “beloved”).

Germanic and Celtic are the only Indo-European language branches in which the PIE word with the meaning of "dear, beloved" acquired the additional meaning of "free" in the sense of "not in bondage". This was an extension of the idea of "characteristic of those who are dear and beloved", in other words friends and tribe members (in contrast to unfree inhabitants from other tribes and prisoners of war, many of which were among the slaves – compare the Latin use of liberi to mean both "free persons" and "children of a family").