freedom

The story

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*frijadōm“freedom”
2. Old English · inherited fromfrēodōm“freedom, state of free-will, charter, emancipation, deliverance”
3. Middle English · inherited fromfredom
4. English todayfreedom

From Middle English fredom, freedom, from Old English frēodōm (“freedom, state of free-will, charter, emancipation, deliverance”), from Proto-West Germanic *frijadōm (“freedom”). Equivalent to free + -dom. Cognate with North Frisian fridoem (“freedom”), Dutch vrijdom (“freedom”), Low German frīdom (“freedom”), Middle High German vrītuom (“freedom”), Norwegian fridom (“freedom”).