freelance
nounEtymology
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.
Definitions
Someone who sells their services to clients without a long-term employment contract.
- The objector, one Millworthy, a free-lance of journalism, was not to be so easily silenced.
- The person you are revising (the revisee) is a colleague at your own rank, or another freelance.
A medieval mercenary.
- I—I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances, and he refused them—I will lead them to Hull, seize on shipping, and embark for Flanders; […] Trust me, Estoteville alone has strength enough to drive all thy Free Lances into the Humber.
Of or relating to a freelance
Of or relating to a freelance; without a long-term employment contract.
- He was a freelance writer for several magazines.
- Both work -- Jenny as a freelance writer from home, Marc full-time-plus as a civil engineer with a long commute. Jenny also takes care of their four sons, ages 20 months to 9 years, and homeschools the two oldest.
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To work as a freelance.
To produce or sell services as a freelance.
The neighborhood
Derived
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for freelance. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA