Freelanced

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Taking on individual projects for diverse clients without a fixed contract
2. Undertook tasks independently for various clients without permanent employment
3. Provided professional services on a project basis rather than as a regular employee

Etymology: Walter Scott gave us the word in 1819, in his novel "Ivanhoe." He needed a name for a medieval fighter who sold his lance to whoever paid, rather than swearing loyalty to a lord, and he combined "free" with "lance" to describe him. The free lance was a mercenary who answered to no one's banner. The meaning then travelled far from the battlefield. By the 1860s, writers were using the term figuratively for anyone working independently, such as a journalist or writer who sold individual pieces to different publications. The Oxford English Dictionary recognised it as a verb in 1903, so "freelanced" describes doing that kind of independent work for a range of clients. The word is built from two plain English parts. "Free" comes from Old English "frēo," and "lance" entered English from Old French "lance," which descends from Latin "lancea." Scott's coinage joined them into a single image that writers have been borrowing ever since.

Synonyms: contracted, self-employed, independent, consulted, worked

Antonyms: employed, hired, salaried, retained, contracted