free city

noun

: a self-governing city or city-state usually possessing sovereign power: such as

a

: an Italian city-state of the 11th century and later

b

: certain cities of Germany since the 13th century having free institutions

c

: a territorial unit (such as Danzig, formerly) comprising a city and often adjacent areas that functions as a semiautonomous political entity under the authority of an international organization

Word History

First Known Use

1575, in the meaning defined above