free-selectv.
/friːsᵻˈlɛkt/, U.S. /ˌfrisəˈlɛkt/, Australian English /friːsəˈlekt/ Australian. Now historical.
transitive. To acquire or seek to acquire (land) under a scheme of free selection. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > take possession of [verb (transitive)] > take (land) into occupation > under government scheme
free-select1861
1861 H. Parkes Speeches 6 Mar. (1876) 138 Those who free-selected land would enter upon it under conditions enforcing them to its improvement.
1884 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Old Melbourne Mem. xix. 134 Had he proceeded to free-select an uninhabited island.
1958 R. Ward Austral. Legend 152 Having free-selected his piece of the squatter's land, he proceeded to live on it by free-selecting some of his cattle.
2002 D. C. Archibald Domesticity, Imperialism & Emigration in Victorian Novel ii. 80 Medlicot has ‘free-selected’ some of Harry's waterfront property upon which to grow sugarcane.
Derivatives
ˌfree-seˈlecting n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > [adjective] > taking land under government scheme
free-selecting1862
the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > [noun] > of land > under government scheme
free selection1859
free-selecting1862
1862 Bell's Life in Sydney 27 Sept. 3/2 Easier to get a living by free selecting than by working for wages.
1869 Colonial Soc. (Sydney) 18 Mar. 2 He tightly pinched his tiny prize—a free-selecting man!
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 401 Free-selecting here might be very well for some people; it didn't suit them.
2002 D. C. Archibald Domesticity, Imperialism & Emigration in Victorian Novel ii. 89 Harry is given numerous chances throughout the book to improve relations with his free-selecting neighbor.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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