freeborn
Americanadjective
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born free, rather than in slavery, bondage, or vassalage.
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pertaining to or befitting persons born free.
adjective
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not born in slavery
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of, relating to, or suitable for people not born in slavery
Etymology
Origin of freeborn
First recorded in 1300–50, freeborn is from the Middle English word freborn, freeborn. See free, born
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Robert—a man born in Africa, enslaved in America, and now a free farmer—and his freeborn African-American herbalist wife, Mary, had worked diligently to ensure this security for themselves and their children.
From Scientific American • Nov. 9, 2021
Describing the move as “extraordinary,” Mr. Johnson said it took away “the ancient inalienable right of freeborn people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub.”
From New York Times • Nov. 13, 2020
Black Seminole Johanna July, freeborn in Mexico, became a horsebreaker on the Texas border.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2019
Nevertheless, protesting gentlemen recruited artisans and laborers by invoking their equal rights to the liberties of freeborn Englishmen.
From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018
They were freeborn as well, hailing from New York City.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
