An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Not physically bound by something.
→ free atmosphere, → free body, → free charge, → free electron, → free expansion phase, → free fall, → free flow, → free occurrence, → free oscillation, → free radical, → free system, → free-bound emission, → free-fall time, → free-floating object, → free-free emission, → freedom, → bound-free transition, → force-free magnetic field, → Gibbs free energy, → Helmholtz free energy, → mean free path, → universality of free fall.

Etymology (EN): From M.E. fre, O.E. freo “free, exempt from,” also “noble, joyful;” cf. Ger. frei, Du. vrij; ultimately from PIE *prijos “dear, beloved;” cf. Av. frāy- “to satisfy, propitiate,” friθa- “beloved; dear,” friθô.tara- “more beloved,” Mod.Pers. fari “happy, fortunate, blessed; pleasing, good,” Skt. priyá- “beloved, wished for;” Gk. praos “mild, gentle.”

Etymology (PE): Âzâd “free,” from Mid.Pers. âzât “free, noble;” Av. āzāta- “high-born, noble,” from zan- “to bear, give birth to a child, be born,” infinitive zazāite, zāta- “born,” āsna- “innate, natural;” cf. Skt. janati “begets, bears;” Gk. gignesthai “to become, happen,” genes “born;” L. gignere “to beget;” PIE base *gen- “to give birth, beget.”