93 "freeway" (Word origins - alt.usage.english)
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This article is from the alt.usage.english FAQ, by Mark Israel misrael@scripps.edu with numerous contributions by others.
93 "freeway" (Word origins - alt.usage.english)
The "free" in "freeway" never referred to lack of a speed limit;
nor did it originally refer to a lack of tollbooths, although W3's
second definition is "a toll-free highway". The word is attested
since 1930, and in the earliest citations it is defined as a
thoroughfare to which the abutting owners have no right of direct
access.
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