Freelance
Discover the surprising origin of the word 'Freelance'
You're a freelancer now. Congrats. Do you know you're named after a medieval soldier who didn't work for anyone? Stick around.
Most people think "freelance" comes from the free market -- you're free to work for yourself. Clean story. American. Modern. Probably invented in Silicon Valley, right? Wrong on all counts.
The word is a mashup: "free" (unbound) and "lance" (spear). A free lance -- a mercenary soldier with no feudal master. No lord, no loyalty contract. The image is powerful. But here's the nuance: the compound word "freelance" probably wasn't used in medieval times the way we imagine. Sir Walter Scott popularized it in his 1820 novel "Ivanhoe," describing mercenary knights. Whether medieval soldiers actually called themselves freelancers, or whether Scott coined the term from the concept, is genuinely unclear. What's certain is that after "Ivanhoe," the word took off. Victorian writers borrowed it for independent journalists and artists. By the mid-1900s, it described anyone working without permanent employment.
The mercenary DNA never fully left. Those original free lances were valued for their skills but not entirely trusted -- they'd fight for whoever paid best. Five centuries later, we're still using the same word for independent workers. The spear became a laptop, but the freedom and the instability travel together.
The weapon became the symbol. The spear meant freedom and instability in equal measure.
Freelance is your word of the day. This is The Why of Words.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the origin of the word Freelance?
- The word "freelance" is a mashup of "free" (unbound) and "lance" (spear), referring to medieval mercenary soldiers with no feudal master or loyalty contract. Sir Walter Scott popularized the compound word in his 1820 novel "Ivanhoe," describing mercenary knights, though whether medieval soldiers actually used this term or Scott coined it is unclear.
- Why is it called Freelance?
- It's called "freelance" because it literally describes a free lance—a mercenary with no lord or feudal obligation. The term captures both the freedom and instability of these soldiers, who were valued for their skills but not fully trusted because they'd fight for whoever paid best.
- Where does the word Freelance come from?
- The word comes from the concept of medieval mercenary soldiers, popularized by Sir Walter Scott in "Ivanhoe" (1820). Victorian writers then borrowed it for independent journalists and artists, and by the mid-1900s it described anyone working without permanent employment.
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