Plural of freeway; high-speed multi-lane roads designed for fast traffic with no tolls and few traffic lights, common in the United States.
Compound from 'free' (no tolls) and 'way' (road). The term originated in California in the 1930s-1940s as a regional Americanism to distinguish them from toll roads and congested city streets.
The word 'freeway' is distinctly American—Europe uses 'motorway' or 'autobahn,' which shows how countries shaped their language to match the infrastructure they built, and the freeway culture created whole suburbs that wouldn't exist otherwise.
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