free

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Gratis ( lat. Gratia = thanks ) is an adverb used in the German language meaning “without anything having to be paid for; un consideration , for free. "

term

It is a borrowing from the 16th century from the synonymous adverb lat. Grātīs , which in turn originated from grātiīs , the ablative plural of Latin grātia " favor , thanks, appreciation " ; it actually means "for the sake of thanks" and therefore not a reward .

In the colloquial language , the phrase “gratis und franko” is used in a reinforcing sense ( franko , obsolete from the merchant's language for “ postage free ”, Italian franco , shortened from: postage franco  = free transport, to franco = free). Historically, according to Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, a gratist (also known as gratuist ), someone “who receives something, namely lessons and food , for free”, a so-called “free student ”; gratis et frustra stands for “free and in vain”.

According to Duden , German is part of the vocabulary of the certificate for free .

Free of charge

Street advertising for "free" beer in Poland (2010)

In the free economy there is i outside the (non- commercial ) private sector . d. Usually no gift just for the sake of thanks . This fact is u. a. by the English acronym TANSTAAFL - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch . The costs that arise ( production , transport , marketing) are at best temporarily hidden or relocated. This becomes particularly clear using the example of the so-called free culture , in which economic cycles were or are interrupted for marketing purposes , ultimately for sales promotion .

Free newspapers use advertising to cover production costs that are not passed on to readers . This business model works well with "free" apps or web - content .

Real free of charge can only be found in the economy with self- regenerating resources, i.e. renewable energies that are permanently provided by the sun and, to a certain extent, the associated renewable raw materials . However, access to it and processing incur costs.

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: gratis  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d gratis , duden.de, accessed on December 13, 2012
  2. ^ Etymological dictionary according to Pfeifer, online in DWDS , accessed on December 13, 2012
  3. ↑ franko , in duden.de, accessed on December 13, 2012
  4. ↑ free in Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon , Volume 8. Leipzig 1907, p. 246., online at zeno.org