half-free

The story

1. Old English · inherited fromhealffrēo“half-free”
2. Middle English · inherited from*half-free
3. English todayhalf-free

From Middle English *half-free, from Old English healffrēo (“half-free”), equivalent to half- + free. Cognate with Dutch halfvrij (“half-free”), German halbfrei (“half-free”), Danish halvfri (“half-free”).