Added 9 October 2026
libre
/ˈliːbɹə/ adjective
Latin root: līber Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about libre at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Especially of the will: free, independent, unconstrained.
- With very few limitations on distribution or the right to access the source code to create improved versions, but not necessarily free of charge. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
- Not enslaved .
noun
Origin
The obsolete “unconstrained” sense is borrowed from French libre (“at liberty”; “free” as in “clear”, “vacant”, “without obligation”), from Latin līber (“free, unrestricted”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“people”), whence obsolete English lede (“person(s)”), English leud, and German Leute. The software and the unenslaved senses are either borrowed from the above French, or from its Spanish cognate libre, of the same meaning and Latin etymon.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)