Born free rather than into slavery; not born as a slave, especially applied to people in societies where slavery existed.
From 'free' + 'born,' a compound adjective emphasizing that someone was born with freedom rather than entering slavery later. Common in historical and legal contexts involving slavery.
In Roman law and other slave societies, the distinction between 'freeborn' and 'freedmen' (those freed from slavery) was legally and socially enormous—freeborn citizens had rights that former slaves could never fully obtain, even after emancipation.
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