Meaning

(obsolete, rare) Especially of the will: free, independent, unconstrained..

Definitions by Sense

1. (obsolete, rare) Especially of the will: free, independent, unconstrained.
2. (software) With very few limitations on distribution or the right to access the source code to create improved versions, but not necessarily free of charge.
3. (historical) Not enslaved (of a black person in a French- or Spanish-colonized area, especially New Orleans).
4. (historical) A free (not enslaved) black person in a French- or Spanish-colonized area, especially New Orleans.

Example Sentences

He [God] Adame lent a libre will to follow what he liſt, / And with his holy ſpirit, and grace his choſen dois aſſiſt: [...]

One more point leads toward Free Software in education: when students get jobs, they prefer to use tools they learned at school in order to minimize extra learning efforts. This fact should lead colleges to teach only those tools not owned by anyone—those that are libre.

The great potential of libre software for development and social inclusion has long been emphasized. The cost aspect of it, though it might act as a driver, is only one limited aspect of the benefits of libre software in developing countries, deprived regions, or urban areas. The empowerment of persons and groups to not only use technology, but understand it, at the level and rhythm that fits them, with the resulting ability to become active contributors and to innovate are the essence of libre software.

The formal definition of Open Access, however, does require re-use rights to enable the article to be re-used in various ways (text-mined, translated into other languages, used in part in other products, etc.), [...]. This is what is known as ‘libre’ Open Access. ‘Libre’ Open Access does not yet constitute the bulk of Open Access literature. In institutional repositories the majority of articles are of the ‘gratis’ type, though a small proportion carry an appropriate (usually Creative Commons) licence and are ‘libre’.

Free and open-source software (F/OSS, FOSS) or free/libre/open-source software (FLOSS) is a software that is both a free software and an open source. FOSS is a computer software that is available in source code (open source) form and that can be used, studied, copied, modified, and redistributed without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients have the same rights under which it was obtained (free or libre). Free software, software libre, or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients have the same rights under which it was obtained and that manufacturers of consumer products incorporating free software provide that software as source code.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:libre.

Word Forms

• libres

Synonyms for libre

Related Words

When Should You Use Libre?

Use libre when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions