fri

Clipping of English Frisian, from Middle English Frisoun, from Old French frison, from Latin Frīsiī.

fri

1. (international standards, obsolete) Former ISO 639-3 language code for Western Frisian.

From English free.

fri

1. free; independent

Cognate with Cornish frig (“nostril”); perhaps related to Proto-Celtic *srognā (compare Welsh ffroen (“nostril”), Old Irish srón (“nose”)).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfriː/

fri m (plural frioù)

1. (anatomy) nose

• IPA^(key): /friː/, [fʁiːˀ]
• (Hardsysselsk) IPA^(key): [fʁitʃː]
• Rhymes: -i
• Rhymes: -iː

Borrowed from Middle Low German vrīen (“to marry”), from Old Saxon friohon.

fri (imperative fri, present frier or frir, past friede, past participle friet)

1. to propose (to ask for one's hand in marriage)

   Synonym: bejle

• frier (“suitor”)
• frieri (“proposal”)

Borrowed from Middle Low German vrī.

fri (neuter frit, plural and definite singular attributive frie)

1. free
2. vacant, unoccupied
3. available

• ufri (“constrained, inhibited, not free”)

Borrowed from Middle Low German vrīen (“to free”), from the adjective vri (“free”).

fri (imperative fri, present frier or frir, past friede, past participle friet)

1. to free (to make free)

• udfri

• “fri” in Den Danske Ordbog

• IPA^(key): /fri/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: fri

fri

1. (neologism) including the cost of^[1]

   mil eŭroj fri haveno

   a thousand euros including shipping costs

   cent dolaroj fri dogano

   one hundred dollars including customs duty

Unofficial and technical. In everyday language, this would be expressed with a wordier phrase.

• “fri”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN

fri (plus dative, triggers h-prothesis)

1. obsolete form of fré

Borrowed from German Low German frî. Compare German frei.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfri/
• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: fri

fri (not comparable, indeclinable, no derived adverb)

1. free

fri (not comparable)

1. freely
2. at someone's disposal

• Stefan Ramułt (1993) [1893], “fri”, in Jerzy Trepczyk, editor, Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego (in Kashubian), 3 edition

From Old Irish fri, from Proto-Celtic *writ- (compare Welsh wrth, prefix gwrth-), from the zero grade of Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn”) (compare Latin versus (“against”)).

fri (takes accusative)

1. towards, to
   • c. 1000, “The Tale of Mac Da Thó's Pig”, in Ernst Windisch, editor, Irische Texte, volume 1, published 1800, section 1:

     Ro·ferad failte friu uile, ocus ructha chuci-sium isin mbruidin.

     They were all made welcome and brought to him in the hall.

     (literally, “A welcome was provided to them all…”)

• Third-person plural accusative: friu

• Classical Gaelic: re
• Irish: re (“to, towards, against”)

  ⇒ Irish: le (conflated with la)

  ⇒ Irish: fa ré, fara, frae (“along with, beside”)

• Manx: rish
• Scottish Gaelic: ri

• frei (Föhr-Amrum)
• frai (Heligoland)
• Frii (Sylt)

From Old Frisian frī, from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“free”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“loved; pleased”), from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- (“to love; to please”).

fri

1. (Goesharde, Halligen, Karrharde, Mooring) free

Borrowed from Middle Low German vrī. Cognates include Danish fri, Swedish fri, German frei, Dutch vrij, English free, and Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis).

• IPA^(key): /fɾiː/

fri (neuter singular fritt, definite singular and plural frie, comparative friere, indefinite superlative friest, definite superlative frieste)

1. free, not imprisoned or enslaved

   en fri mann ― a free man

2. free, not blocked

   fri ferdsel ― free traffic

3. free, no payment necessary

   fri inngang ― free admission

• “fri” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /friː/

From Middle Low German vrī.^[1] Akin to English free.

fri (neuter singular fritt, definite singular and plural frie, comparative friare, indefinite superlative friast, definite superlative friaste)

1. free, not imprisoned or enslaved

   ein fri mann ― a free man

2. free, not blocked

   fri ferdsel ― free traffic

3. free, no payment necessary

   fri inngang ― free admission

From Middle Low German vrien and Old Norse frjá (“to love”).^[1]

• fria, frie

fri (present tense frir, past tense fridde, past participle fritt/fridd, passive infinitive friast, present participle friande, imperative fri)

1. to propose (marriage)

• friar
• frieri
• frieri

From Old Norse fría, from fri (Etymology 1).^[1]

• fria, frie

fri (present tense frir, past tense fridde, past participle fritt/fridd, passive infinitive friast, present participle friande, imperative fri)

1. to free

• fir

From Proto-West Germanic *frī.

frī

1. free, unbound

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

• Middle Dutch: vri
  • Dutch: vrij
    • Afrikaans: vry
    • Negerhollands: vri, vrie, fri
    • → Aukan: felei
    • → Caribbean Javanese: frèi, prèi, pré
    • → Indonesian: prei (“holiday, free, doing nothing”)
    • → Javanese: ꦥꦿꦺꦲꦶ (prèi)
    • → Manado Malay: frei
    • → Peranakan Indonesian: vry
    • → Sundanese: peré

• “frī”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

• IPA^(key): /friː/
• Rhymes: -iː

frī

1. alternative form of frēo

From Proto-West Germanic *frī.

frī

1. free

• North Frisian:

  Föhr-Amrum: frei

  Goesharde, Halligen, Karrharde, Mooring: fri

  Heligoland: frai

  Sylt: Frii

• Saterland Frisian: fräi
• West Frisian: frij

From Proto-West Germanic *frī.

frī

1. free

• frīginōz

• Middle High German: vrī
  • German: frei
  • Luxembourgish: fräi
  • Vilamovian: frȧj
  • Yiddish: פֿרײַ (fray)

From Proto-Celtic *writ- (compare Welsh wrth, prefix gwrth-), from the zero grade of Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn”) (compare Latin versus (“against”)).

• IPA^(key): /ɸʲɾʲi/

fri (takes accusative)

1. towards, to
2. against
3. with
4. (governing a verbal noun) about to
5. from (with scaraid (“to separate”) and its compounds and synonyms)
6. with respect to, with regard to, in regard to

For quotations using this term, see Citations:fri.

Forms combined with the definite article:

• fris(s)in (m sg or f sg accusative)
• fris(s)a (n sg accusative)
• frisna (pl accusative)

Forms combined with the relative particle:

• fris(s)a

Forms combined with a possessive determiner:

• frim (first-person singular)
• frit (second-person singular)
• fria (third-person singular/plural)

• Middle Irish: fri
  • Classical Gaelic: re
  • Irish: re (“to, towards, against”)

    ⇒ Irish: le (conflated with la)

    ⇒ Irish: fa ré, fara, frae (“along with, beside”)

  • Manx: rish
  • Scottish Gaelic: ri

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fri”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) [1909], D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, translation of Handbuch des Alt-Irischen (in German), →ISBN, §§ 433, 839, pages 272–73, 514–15; reprinted 2017

From Proto-West Germanic *frī.

frī (comparative frīoro, superlative frīost)

1. free

• Middle Low German: vri, vrîg
  • Low German: fri, free, frigg
  • → Danish: fri
  • → Estonian: prii
  • → Faroese: fríur
  • → Latvian: brīvs
  • → Livonian: brī
  • → Norwegian: fri
  • → Swedish: fri

From Proto-Germanic *frijō.

frī f

1. woman

• Joseph Wright, An Old English Grammar (Oxford 1908)

From Old English fram.

fri

1. (Southern Scots) from

• frae
• thrae
• thri

From English free.

fri

1. free

fri

1. to set free

fri

1. freedom
   • 1961, Michaël Slory, ““Sarka – Gi Yomo Kenyata (Kenya)” [Bitter struggle – For Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya)]”, in Sarka / Bittere strijd‎^[2], Amsterdam: Pegasus:

     Fri yu no kan skrifi na / ini den nangra fu den opete.

     Freedom cannot be written / in the clutches of vultures.

From Middle Low German vri, from Old Saxon frī, from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz.

• IPA^(key): /friː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iː

fri

1. free (unconstrained)
2. free (not imprisoned)
3. free (without obligations)

   Du är fri att göra som du vill.

   You are free to do as you please.

4. free (obtainable without payment)

   Synonym: gratis

5. free (without)
   • 2000, 1973 års bibelkommission [The Swedish Bible Commission of 1973], “Johannesevangeliet [John] 8:7”, in Bibel 2000‎^[3], © Svenska Bibelsällskapet, accessed at Bible.com, archived from the original on 14 October 2025:

     [Jesus såg] upp och sade: »Den av er som är fri från synd skall kasta första stenen på henne.«

     Jesus looked up and said, "Whoever among you is free from sin shall cast the first stone at her."

• “fri”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• fri in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

fri (Tifinagh spelling ⴼⵔⵉ)

1. (transitive) to tear, to rip

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• Verbal noun: afray

• IPA^(key): /vriː/

fri

1. soft mutation of bri