The Surprising History of 'Freelance'
Merriam Webster's explanation of the word "freelancer"
Merriam Webster
“Freelancer” has no legal or standardised definition.
A freelancer is a generally a self-employed individual, often providing services to a client on a project by project basis.
Often, freelancers will have multiple clients at once, and work independently - setting their own working scheduled, ways of working, rates and deliverables.
Freelancers may also work for companies as a temporary contractor or may even work similarly to an employee, for a fixed period of time, but often without rights to benefits such as paid holiday, sick leave or pension contributions.
Freelancers can be sole-traders, run limited companies, or even be wholly-employed and freelance in addition to their primary employment.
Not all self-employed people are freelancers, and not everyone who works in this way describes themselves as a freelancer.
Some people describe themselves as “a freelancer”, but “freelancer” is not a job title - it’s a way of working. You might meet freelance designers, freelance writers, freelance developers, and so on.
Many people in self-employment are not freelancers, for example, they might run a small shop, be a electrician, work as a taxi driver, or a solicitor. Often, those people do not describe themselves as freelancers.
Freelancing has, for many, negative connotations - some people see freelancers as not being committed to a business, or just freelancing whilst they look for their next permanent job. However, most freelancers are highly committed, and work as a freelancer as their preferred way of working.
Freelancing is extremely common in some industries, such as creative work, film and television, theatre, and software development. It is estimated that, for example, 35% of the UK creative industry are freelancers, 30% of UK journalists are freelancers, 54% of the film and tv industry, and 70% of the theatre industry.
Origins
The origins of the word “freelance” is often attributed the concept of a medieval mercenary who would fight for whichever nation or person paid them the most. Early evidence of the word appears in Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Ivanhoe from 1819:
"I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances"
and in The Life and Times of Hugh Miller, by Thomas N. Brown in 1809:
"Hugh Miller was a loyal combatant, not a free lance"
After which, the term mutated to refer to politicians without political affiliations, and then associated to independent writers and journalists, not employed by a newspaper, but free to write for whom they wish.
Today, freelancing continues to conjure ideas of freedom, flexibility and independence - however, just like the medieval mercenary, the risks of working for yourself, without the protections of a household (or perhaps employer) are still very true.
Whilst we might not have horses and armour anymore, we still have to fight for our own rights, to be paid on time, and have little support beyond our own wit and determination.