freewomann.
/ˈfriːˌwʊmən/, U.S. /ˈfriˌwʊmən/ 1. A woman who is (personally or politically) free; esp. a woman who is not a slave. Cf. freeman n. 1.In later use the one-word form has tended to be used exclusively with reference to freedom from slavery, whereas when referring to political freedom the two words are more likely to be used as a transparent collocation.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > [noun] > freeman or not slave > freewoman
freewomanc1225
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 6 Ȝef heo his freo wummon, ich hire wule habben & holden to wiue; & ȝef heo þeowe is, ich cheose hire to cheuese.
c1520 Nisbet Galat. iv. 23 Bot he that was of the seruand, was born eftir the flesch; bot he that was of the fre woman, be repromissioun.
1564 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 227 He, believyng [hyr] at thar contract to have beyn ane fre woman undefamit, tuk hyr haym to his awyn hows.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Macc. ii. 11 Of a free-woman shee is become a bondslaue. View more context for this quotation
a1629 W. Hinde Faithfull Remonstr. (1641) li. 168 Are ye not rather the children of the bond woman..than children of the free woman.
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth i. 13 She was alwayes her owne free woman, and obnoxious to none.
1697 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ I. i. xxvi. 160 He, that deflowrs a Free-woman by force, shall be Fin'd an hundred Drachms.
1748 T. Salmon Considerations Bill Gen. Naturalization 48 If a freewoman had a child by a slave it followed the condition of the father.
1848 Jrnl. Ethnological Soc. 1 71 [They] look upon [them] as their inferiors, being, according to their genealogies, the descendants of a slave-woman, whilst they are the posterity of a free-woman.
1861 H. A. Jacobs Incidents Life Slave Girl iii. 14 O, you happy free women, contrast your New Year's day with that of the poor bond-woman!
1925 G. G. Coulton Medieval Village ii. 17 A serf might get his liberty by marrying a freewoman.
2001 MELUS Autumn 56 Alice's mother was a freewoman; Alice's father was one of the Weylin enslaved men.
2. A woman who possesses the freedom of a city, borough, company, etc. Cf. freeman n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > right of specific class, person, or place > [noun] > of citizenship of a town or city > woman possessing
freewoman1423
1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 126 (MED) We endite Maute kelly and Isabell Sturmyn for foreyn mennes wives retaillyng and byeng as fre wymmen.
1526 in A. Munday et al. Stow's Survey of London (1633) 690 If hereafter any Free man or Free woman of this City, take any Apprentice, [etc.].
1624 T. Heywood Γυναικεῖον ii. 99 Her the senate..rewarded with libertie, making her a free woman of the cittie.
1766 J. Entick New Hist. London I. 471 Any freeman or freewoman of this city.
1800 J. B. Bosanquet & C. Puller Rep. Cases Courts of Common Pleas I. 496 The widow and executrix was a free woman of London.
1949 Dict. National Biogr. 1931–40 at Kendal, Dame Margaret Shafto In 1932 she was made an honorary freewoman of Grimsby.
1969 Guardian 19 June 11/1 Women are admitted as Freewomen or Freesisters (second-class non-voting members) to some [livery] companies.
2004 Irish Times (Nexis) 21 Feb. 15 Her remarkable battle for the rights of ordinary Burmese has touched a chord with Irish people and she is a freewoman of Dublin.
3. Usually as two words. A woman who holds liberal, unconventional, or feminist views concerning the conventions traditionally governing feminine behaviour; a woman who does not abide by, or considers herself free of, such conventions. Cf. emancipated adj. 2, new woman n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > [noun] > discrimination or inegalitarianism > by sex > opposition to > advocate or supporter of
sister1792
-righter1854
woman's righter1854
new woman1865
woman's rightist1869
women's righter1870
femininist1873
women's rightist1875
liberationist1879
emancipatress1882
feminist1887
freewoman1895
equal righter1896
womanist1902
women liberator1969
women's libber1970
libber1971
1895 G. Allen Woman who Did xiii. 137 To be sure, they did n't ask the free woman to their homes, nor invite her to meet their own women.
1911 Freewoman 23 Nov. 3/2 Our interest is in the Freewoman herself, her psychology, philosophy,..and achievements.
1940 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh (typescript) ii. 21-77 Her high-and-mighty free-woman stuff, saying..you thought a woman you loved was a piece of private property.
1958 A. White tr. Colette's Claudine in Paris xv. 189 I had been searching for..a master. Free women are not women at all.
1986 Country Life 2 Oct. 1054/1 She wanted to be an artist and..a free woman, refusing to be called ‘Mrs’.
2005 M. Raha Cinderella's Big Score viii. 227 The new ‘free’ woman who is in charge of herself sexually and who embodies..feminist independence.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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