freeway
UK[ˈfriːweɪ]US[ˈfriːweɪ]
n
a wide road in a city or between cities, on which vehicles can travel fast for long distances, and on which vehicles can only enter or leave at special ramps
Morpheme Breakdown
free
way
free
sense
way
sense
Etymology
the term 'freeway' is a 20th-century american english compound, perfectly illustrating a descriptive naming logic. the element 'free' does not refer to cost but to the condition of unrestricted movement, drawing from its old english root meaning 'unobstructed'. combined with 'way', from an ancient proto-germanic root for 'road', it denotes a high-speed road designed for unimpeded travel, free from intersections and direct access to adjacent properties. this modern engineering concept is thus encapsulated in a compound whose literal meaning, 'an open road', directly reflects its function.
Analysis
Structure: free (sense) + way (sense)
free (from old english 'frēo', meaning 'not in bondage, acting of one's own will', functioning as an adjective meaning 'unobstructed, open' in this compound); way (from old english 'weg', meaning 'road, path, course of travel', functioning as a noun meaning 'a road for traveling')
Examples
we took the freeway to get to the airport quickly.
the accident caused a massive traffic jam on the southbound freeway.
new carpool lanes have been added to the congested freeway.